| 元素 | yuán sù | element; element of a set; chemical element |
| 元 | yuán | Chinese monetary unit; dollar; primary; first; surname Yuan; the Yuan or Mongol dynasty (1279-1368) |
| 元件 | yuán jiàn | element; component |
| 单元 | dān yuán | unit; entrance number; staircase (for residential buildings) |
| 元年 | yuán nián | first year of Emperor's reign |
| 元朝 | Yuán cháo | Yuan or Mongol dynasty (1279-1368) |
| 二元 | èr yuán | two yuan; two dollars; binary |
| 国家元首 | guó jiā yuán shǒu | head of state |
| 元首 | yuán shǒu | head of state |
| 化学元素 | huà xué yuán sù | chemical element |
| 朱元璋 | Zhū Yuán zhāng | Zhu Yuanzhang, personal name of first Ming dynasty emperor Hongwu 洪武 |
| 纪元 | jì yuán | beginning of an era |
| 元帅 | yuán shuài | marshal (in the army) |
| 状元 | zhuàng yuán | top scorer in the palace examination (highest rank of the Imperial examination system); see 榜眼 and 探花; top scorer in college entrance examination 高考 |
| 非金属元素 | fēi jīn shǔ yuán sù | nonmetal (chemistry) |
| 微量元素 | wēi liàng yuán sù | trace element (chemistry) |
| 元旦 | yuán dàn | New Year's Day |
| 日元 | rì yuán | Japanese yen (unit of currency); also written 日圆 |
| 庆元 | Qìng yuán | Qingyuan county in Lishui 丽水, Zhejiang |
| 蔡元培 | Cài Yuán péi | Cai Yuanpei (1868-1940), liberal educationalist, studied in Germany, President of Beijing University 1917-19, minister of education for Guomindang |
| 元气 | yuán qì | strength; vigor; vitality; original vital breath (traditional Chinese medicine) |
| 二元论 | èr yuán lùn | dualism, belief that the universe is made of two different substance (e.g. mind and matter or good and evil) |
| 放射性元素 | fàng shè xìng yuán sù | radioactive element |
| 开元 | Kāi yuán | reign name 713-741 of Tang emperor Xuanzong 唐玄宗, a peak of Tang prosperity |
| 改元 | gǎi yuán | to change an emperor's or ruler's reign title (old) |
| 元曲 | Yuán qǔ | Yuan dynasty theater, including poetry, music and comedy |
| 新纪元 | xīn jì yuán | new era; new epoch; New Age (movement) |
| 元音 | yuán yīn | vowel |
| 元宝 | yuán bǎo | a silver or gold ingot; mock ingot (burnt as offering in worship); a name for ancient currency; a rare genius; Yuanbao district of Dandong city 丹东市, Liaoning |
| 元老 | yuán lǎo | grandee; old leadership; chief figure (in a gerontocracy) |
| 元老院 | yuán lǎo yuàn | upper house; senate; senior statesmen's assembly |
| 一元论 | yī yuán lùn | monism, belief that the universe is made of a single substance |
| 元史 | Yuán shǐ | History of the Yuan dynasty, twenty third of the 24 dynastic histories 二十四史, compiled under Song Lian 宋濂 in 1370 during the Ming dynasty, 210 scrolls |
| 柳宗元 | Liǔ Zōng yuán | Liu Zongyuan (773-819), Tang essayist and poet, advocate of the classical writing 古文运动 and neoclassical 复古 movements |
| 元月 | yuán yuè | first month of the Lunar calendar; the New Year |
| 元山 | Yuán shān | Wonsan city in Kangweon province 江原道 of North Korea |
| 元世祖 | Yuán Shì zǔ | lit. progenitor of the Yuan Dynasty (1279-1368 CE), title of Khubilai Khan (1215-1294 CE), grandson of Genghis Khan 成吉思汗, first Yuan dynasty emperor, reigned 1260-1294 |
| 电子元件 | diàn zǐ yuán jiàn | electronic component |
| 广元 | Guǎng yuán | Guangyuan prefecture level city in Sichuan |
| 美元 | měi yuán | American dollar; US dollar |
| 一元 | yī yuán | single variable (math.); univariate |
| 一元醇 | yī yuán chún | methyl alcohol CH3OH |
| 三元区 | Sān yuán qū | Sanyuan district of Sanming city 三明市, Fujian |
| 三元运算 | sān yuán yùn suàn | ternary operator (computing) |
| 三元醇 | sān yuán chún | propyl alcohol C3H7OH |
| 三十二位元 | sān shí èr wèi yuán | 32-bit (computing) |
| 不定元 | bù dìng yuán | indeterminate element (math.), often denoted by x |
| 中元 | zhōng yuán | Ghosts' festival on 15th day of 7th moon |
| 中元普渡 | zhōng yuán pǔ dù | Ghosts' festival on 15th day of 7th moon |
| 中间神经元 | zhōng jiān shén jīng yuán | interneuron |
