Writing Balance Rule: The left radical 亻 (person) should be narrow and occupy about one-third of the width, while the right component 奇 ( qí ) claims the remaining two-thirds with balanced horizontal strokes.
1. Meaning
to lean on, to lean against
to rely uponto depend on
VerbNeutral#posture#dependence#relationship
Sample Usage
他倚着墙看书。
tā yǐ zhe qiáng kàn shū.
He is leaning against the wall reading a book.
倚赖父母是不对的。
yǐ lài fù mǔ shì bú duì de.
It is wrong to rely completely on one's parents.
2. Sound
/[i³⁵]/Tone: 35
倚
yǐyi3
|
++
ˇ(214)
=yǐ
Build the syllable
Step-by-step blending
yi
Tone mark placement: Tone mark sits on "i" per main-vowel priority (a > e > o; in -iu/-ui the mark takes the second vowel).
Initial Consonant
y
Type: Glide (y)
Sounds like: Glide (y)
Unaspirated
Airflow Tactile Test: Acts as a bridge into 'i' or 'ü' vowel sounds.
Tongue & Mouth Position: Raise middle of tongue toward hard palate, gliding effortlessly into vowel.
Final Rhyme
i
Vowel Group: -i vowel group
Sounds like: rhymes with the 'ee' in 'see'
Mouth Shape Guide: Pronounce as standalone vowel 'ee'.
Common Learner Trap: Keep vowel quality steady across all 4 tone contours.
Tone
T3 (214)
2 → 1 → 4 (214)
3rd Tone (Low-Dipping)
Tone Pitch & Cadence: Tone 3 dips down then rises sharply, mirroring an incredulous questioning intonation in English.
Sandhi: When followed by another 3rd tone syllable, changes to a 2nd tone.
👂
Listening trap: Often confused with 意 (yì) due to identical consonant and vowel sounds, but differs entirely in tone (3rd dipping/rising vs 4th falling).
👋
Physical Tone Gesture: Start at a mid pitch and sweep upward quickly to a high pitch, exactly like asking 'Huh?' in English with surprise.
3. Writing
Topology: Left-right · Strokes: 10 strokes
Writing Balance Rule: The left radical 亻 (person) should be narrow and occupy about one-third of the width, while the right component 奇 ( qí ) claims the remaining two-thirds with balanced horizontal strokes.
4. Components
Radical亻 · Person Radical (human being)
Semantic Clue (形旁):亻 (indicates human posture or action)
Phonetic Clue (声旁):奇 (original sound: qí)
A person (亻) standing next to something unusual or strange (奇), using it to prop themselves up.
亻 person
奇 odd / phonetic clue
Phonetic Family (形声字家族)
18· Phonetic Root: 奇 (jī)
5. History
Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)
Origin: Combined from the person radical (亻) representing a human figure and (奇) which provides the phonetic reading and a sense of standing apart or leaning.
Semantic Evolution: Originally denoting a person leaning against an object or person for support, expanding abstractly into reliance on concepts or help.
Commonly paired with words like 靠 (kào) to form compound verbs of physical support.
6. Sinosphere
7. Memory
Vivid Mnemonic Story
A person (亻) is standing quite oddly (奇) because they are leaning heavily against a streetlamp for support.