忆 (yì) - Meaning, Stroke Order & Audio

忆

yì[yi4]Tone 4

to recollect, remember, memory

HSK 5

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憶

Guru Deep Dive

English · to recollect, remember, memory

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Topology:Left-right

Strokes:4

Writing Balance Rule: The left radical (heart) takes up about one-third of the width, leaving the right component (yì) balanced with horizontal strokes stacked neatly.

Simplification Logic: Simplified from 憶 (16 strokes) down to 忆 (4 strokes) by replacing the complex phonetic component 音 with 乙 and keeping the heart radical 忄.

1. Meaning

to remember or recollect

memoryrecallthink of

Verb / NounNeutralBound morpheme#cognition#memory#mental state

Sample Usage

回忆
huí yì
to recall, recollection
记忆
jì yì
memory, to remember

2. Sound

/[i⁵¹]/Tone: 51

忆

yìyi4

`(51)

=yì

Initial Consonant

Type: Palatal Glide (Zero Initial)

Sounds like: Zero initial (starts directly with vowel)

Unaspirated

Airflow Tactile Test: Acts as a bridge into 'i' or 'ü' vowel sounds.

Tongue & Mouth Position: Tongue is high and forward, near the hard palate for the 'i' sound.

Final Rhyme

Vowel Group: -i vowel group

Sounds like: ee sound as in 'see'

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

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

Tone

T4 (51)

5 → 1 (51)

4th Tone (High-Falling)

Tone Pitch & Cadence: Tone 4 starts at the ceiling of your vocal range and drops instantly to the bottom, similar to a sharp command like 'Stop!'

👂

Listening trap: Do not confuse Tone 4 (yì) with Tone 1 (yī) or Tone 2 (yí). Tone 4 starts high and plunges quickly.

👋

Physical Tone Gesture: A sharp, firm karate chop downward from high to low, mirroring a sudden realization.

3. Writing

Topology: Left-right · Strokes: 4 strokes

Writing Balance Rule: The left radical (heart) takes up about one-third of the width, leaving the right component (yì) balanced with horizontal strokes stacked neatly.

Simplification Logic: Simplified from 憶 (16 strokes) down to 忆 (4 strokes) by replacing the complex phonetic component 音 with 乙 and keeping the heart radical 忄.

4. Components

Radical 忄 · Vertical Heart Radical (Heart, emotions, mind, or mental activity)

Semantic Clue (形旁): 忄 (Indicates that the action or concept involves the mind, heart, or feelings.)

Phonetic Clue (声旁): 乙 (original sound: yi)

To remember something (忆), you use your heart/mind (忄) to connect back to a past event or second (乙).

忄 Heart / Mind semantic indicator
乙 Phonetic clue providing the 'yì' sound

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

7· Phonetic Root: 乙 (zhé)

5. History

Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)

Origin: The traditional form 憶 combined the heart radical (心) indicating internal thoughts with 音 (sound) indicating pronunciation. Over time, the form was streamlined in Simplified Chinese to use 乙 as a phonetic helper.

Semantic Evolution: Originally referred to deep inner thoughts and mental retention, broadening over time to cover all forms of memory, recollection, and reminiscence.

The vertical heart radical (忄) is always placed on the left side of characters dealing with emotions or mental states.

6. Sinosphere

🇯🇵

Kanji (Japanese)

On: オク / Kun: おく.る

🇰🇷

Hanja (Korean)

익

7. Memory

Vivid Mnemonic Story

With all your HEART (忄), you try to recall the SECOND (乙) you first fell in love, creating a lasting MEMORY (忆).

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

忆

yìto rememberBase character with heart and phonetic part.

亿

yì100 millionUses person radical (亻) instead of heart (忄).

Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)

亿(yì)

亿 uses the person radical (亻) for population numbers, while 忆 uses the heart radical (忄) for memories kept in the mind.

8. Mastery

Active Recall Challenge

我能清醒地[___]起那段美好的时光。

Clue: yì

Common Learner Pitfall

Confusing the left radical with the person radical (亻) and writing 亿 when you mean the mental concept of memory (忆).

Memory Prompts

Recognition: When you see 忆 with the heart radical and falling tone yì, what does it mean?

Production: How do you write the simplified character for 'to remember / memory' (yì) using a heart radical?

忆yìto recollect, remember, memory

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