夷 (yí) - Meaning, Stroke Order & Audio

夷

yí[yi2]Tone 2

barbarian, non-Han people, to wipe out

HSK 7

Guru Deep Dive

English · barbarian, non-Han people, to wipe out

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Topology:Left-right

Strokes:6

Writing Balance Rule: Keep the left component (大) slightly narrower and lower, and the right component (弓) taller and sweeping outward to maintain structural stability.

1. Meaning

foreign tribe, barbarian

to wipe outto exterminateto raze to the groundlevel, smooth

Noun / VerbLiteraryBound morpheme#ethnicity#history#destruction#action

Sample Usage

华夷之辨
huá yí zhī biàn
the distinction between Chinese and non-Chinese
夷为平地
yí wéi píng dì
to raze to the ground

2. Sound

/[i³⁵]/Tone: 35

夷

yíyi2

´(35)

=yí

Build the syllable

Step-by-step blending

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

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

Vowel Group: -i vowel group

Sounds like: -ee sound in 'see'

Mouth Shape Guide: Pronounce as standalone vowel 'ee'.

Common Learner Trap: Keep vowel quality steady across all 4 tone contours.

Tone

T2 (35)

3 → 5 (35)

2nd Tone (Mid-Rising)

Tone Pitch & Cadence: Tone 2 starts mid and rises sharply to the top, exactly like asking 'Huh?' or 'Really?' in surprise.

👂

Listening trap: Confusing the rising Tone 2 (yí) with Tone 1 (yī) or Tone 4 (yì). Make sure the pitch visibly climbs.

👋

Physical Tone Gesture: A rising hand gesture starting from your chest and moving upward and outward, matching the inquiring intonation of 'What?' in English.

3. Writing

Topology: Left-right · Strokes: 6 strokes

Writing Balance Rule: Keep the left component (大) slightly narrower and lower, and the right component (弓) taller and sweeping outward to maintain structural stability.

4. Components

Radical 大 · Big Radical (big, large, human figure)

Semantic Clue (形旁): 大 (represents a person)

A large person (大) holding or accompanied by a bow or curved tool (弓), historically depicting eastern archers or tribes.

大 big, human figure
弓 bow, curved shape

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

6· Phonetic Root: 夷 (yí)

5. History

Liushu category: Compound ideogram (会意)

Origin: Originally depicted a person (大) carrying a bow (弓). Ancient Chinese used it to refer to eastern nomadic tribes renowned for archery.

Semantic Evolution: Shifted from meaning 'eastern foreigner/archer' to a general term for foreign peoples, and later acquired verbal meanings like 'to level' or 'to exterminate'.

In ancient texts, '东夷' (Eastern Yi) referred to tribes residing east of ancient China, including parts of modern-day Shandong, Manchuria, and the Korean peninsula.

6. Sinosphere

🇯🇵

Kanji (Japanese)

On: イ (i) / Kun: えみし (emishi), ひらこ (hirako)

🇰🇷

Hanja (Korean)

이

7. Memory

Vivid Mnemonic Story

A big person (大) carrying a hunting bow (弓) stands at the eastern border as a foreign barbarian.

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

姨

yíaunt (mother's sister)+ 女 (woman)

咦

yíexpression of surprise+ 口 (mouth)

痍

yíbruise; sores+ 疒 (sickness)

胰

yípancreas+ ⺼ (meat)

Explore this family →

Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)

天(tiān)

天 has a top horizontal stroke representing the sky, whereas 夷 has a bow (弓) on the right.

8. Mastery

Active Recall Challenge

那座古城在战乱中被[___]为平地。

Clue: yí

Common Learner Pitfall

Confusing the written form with 天 (tiān) due to the shared '大' base component.

Memory Prompts

Recognition: What does the literary character 夷 mean when used in historical contexts or phrases like 夷为平地?

Production: How do you write the character for 'barbarian / to raze' (yí) with 6 strokes?

夷yíbarbarian, non-Han people, to wipe out

Speed:

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