懂中文 Dong Chinese

辕

yuán

axle

Phonosemantic compound. 车 represents the meaning and 袁 represents the sound. Simplified form of 轅.

Components
车 meaning component

车  Meaning component

chē, jū

  

vehicle

袁 sound component

袁  Sound component

yuán

  

robe

Evolution

辕 Seal script Shuowen (~100 AD)

Seal script

Shuowen (~100 AD)
辕 Clerical script Cao Wei (Three Kingdoms: 222-280 AD)

Clerical script

Cao Wei (Three Kingdoms: 222-280 AD)
辕 Traditional script Modern

Traditional script

Modern
辕 Simplified script Modern

Simplified script

Modern
Definitions

辕 (轅) 

yuán

axle; magistrate's office; surname; shafts of cart; yamen

Most common words with 辕
Freq.
Word
Meaning

南辕北辙

to act in a way that defeats one's purpose (idiom)

轩辕

Xuan Yuan, personal name of Huangdi, the Yellow Emperor 黃帝|黄帝[Huáng​dì]

辕

yamen

车辕

shaft (pulling a cart)

轩辕氏

alternative name for the Yellow Emperor 黄帝