| 演 | yǎn | to develop; to evolve; to practice; to perform; to play; to act |
| 演出 | yǎn chū | to act (in a play); to perform; to put on (a performance); performance; concert; show; CL:场,次 |
| 演奏 | yǎn zòu | to play a musical instrument; to perform music |
| 表演 | biǎo yǎn | play; show; performance; exhibition; to perform; to act; to demonstrate; CL:场 |
| 演习 | yǎn xí | exercise; practice; to put on a play; to act |
| 演说 | yǎn shuō | speech; to deliver a speech |
| 演唱 | yǎn chàng | sung performance; to sing for an audience |
| 反演 | fǎn yǎn | inversion (geometry) |
| 演变 | yǎn biàn | to develop; to evolve |
| 演算 | yǎn suàn | to calculate; to perform calculations |
| 讲演 | jiǎng yǎn | to lecture; to speak publicly |
| 演示 | yǎn shì | to demonstrate; to show; presentation; demonstration |
| 演讲 | yǎn jiǎng | lecture; to make a speech |
| 扮演 | bàn yǎn | to play the role of; to act |
| 上演 | shàng yǎn | to screen (a movie); to stage (a play); a screening; a staging |
| 导演 | dǎo yǎn | direct; director (film etc) |
| 演义 | yǎn yì | to dramatize historical events; novel or play on historical theme |
| 演化 | yǎn huà | to evolve; evolution |
| 三国演义 | Sān guó Yǎn yì | Romance of the Three Kingdoms by Luo Guanzhong 罗贯中, one of the Four Classic Novels of Chinese literature; a fictional account of the Three Kingdoms at the break-up of the Han around 200 AD, consistently portraying Liu Bei's Shu Han 劉備, 刘备, 蜀汉 as virtuous heroes and Cao Cao's Wei 曹操, 魏 as tyrannical villains |
| 天演论 | tiān yǎn lùn | the theory of evolution (early translation, since replaced by 进化论) |
| 重演 | chóng yǎn | a repeat performance; repeat occurrence (e.g. of a disaster) |
| 演戏 | yǎn xì | to put on a play; to perform; fig. to pretend; to feign |
| 演进 | yǎn jìn | evolution; gradual forward progress |
| 公演 | gōng yǎn | to perform (e.g. on the stage); to lecture |
| 排演 | pái yǎn | to rehearse (a performance) |
| 表演赛 | biǎo yǎn sài | exhibition match |
| 演剧 | yǎn jù | to perform a play |
| 开演 | kāi yǎn | (of a play, movie etc) to begin |
| 演员 | yǎn yuán | actor or actress; performer; CL:个,位,名 |
| 主演 | zhǔ yǎn | to act the leading role (in a movie or a play); to star; lead actor |
| 加演 | jiā yǎn | encore; to give an extra performance |
| 汇演 | huì yǎn | joint performance |
| 口技表演者 | kǒu jì biǎo yǎn zhě | ventriloquist |
| 合演 | hé yǎn | to act together; to put on a joint performance |
| 天演 | tiān yǎn | natural change; evolution (early translation, since replaced by 进化) |
| 女演员 | nǚ yǎn yuán | actress |
| 封神演义 | fēng shén yǎn yì | Investiture of the Gods, major Ming dynasty vernacular novel of mythology and fantasy, very loosely based on King Wu of Zhou's 周武王 overthrow of the Shang, subsequent material for opera, film, TV series, computer games etc |
| 就职演说 | jiù zhí yǎn shuō | inaugural speech |
| 就职演讲 | jiù zhí yǎn jiǎng | inaugural lecture |
| 巡回演出 | xún huí yǎn chū | theatrical tour; series of performance by a visiting troupe; roadshow |
| 愈演愈烈 | yù yǎn yù liè | ever more critical; problems get more and more intense |
| 推演 | tuī yǎn | to deduce; to infer; to derive; an implication |
| 操演 | cāo yǎn | demonstration |
| 故伎重演 | gù jì chóng yǎn | to repeat an old stratagem; up to one's old tricks |
| 敷演 | fū yǎn | variant of 敷衍; to elaborate (on a theme); to expound (the meaning of the classics) |
| 文艺演出 | wén yì yǎn chū | theatrical performance; CL:场 |
| 时装表演 | shí zhuāng biǎo yǎn | a fashion show |
| 替身演员 | tì shēn yǎn yuán | substitute actor (esp. in fights of theatrical stunts); stuntman |
| 核武器演练 | hé wǔ qì yǎn liàn | nuclear weapon maneuver |
| 历史总在重演 | lì shǐ zǒng zài chóng yǎn | History repeats itself. |
