译 (yì) - Meaning, Stroke Order & Audio

译

yì[yi4]Tone 4

to translate

HSK 4

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譯

Guru Deep Dive

English · to translate

Cached lesson

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Topology:Left-right

Strokes:7

Writing Balance Rule: The left radical (讠) takes up about one-third of the width, leaving the right component (幸) balanced with ample space for its horizontal strokes.

Simplification Logic: The left side uses the simplified speech radical 讠 (from 言), reducing complex traditional strokes into two clean lines.

1. Meaning

to translate, to interpret

to decodeto decipher

VerbNeutral#communication#language#action

Sample Usage

请把这句话译成英文。
Qǐng bǎ zhè jù huà yì chéng yīngwén.
Please translate this sentence into English.
他是会议的同声传译员。
Tā shì huìyì de tóngshēng chuányì yuán.
He is the simultaneous interpreter for the conference.

2. Sound

/[i⁵¹]/Tone: 51

译

yìyi4

`(51)

=yì

Initial Consonant

Type: Palatal Glide (Zero Initial)

Sounds like: 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 rhymes with 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 high and plunges down like an emphatic downward nod or an abrupt command.

👂

Listening trap: Confusing the falling Tone 4 with Tone 1 (high level) or Tone 2 (rising). Make sure the pitch drops steeply from high to low.

👋

Physical Tone Gesture: A sharp, decisive karate chop starting high and dropping straight down to the bottom, mirroring the drop in voice when giving a firm 'No!'.

3. Writing

Topology: Left-right · Strokes: 7 strokes

Writing Balance Rule: The left radical (讠) takes up about one-third of the width, leaving the right component (幸) balanced with ample space for its horizontal strokes.

Simplification Logic: The left side uses the simplified speech radical 讠 (from 言), reducing complex traditional strokes into two clean lines.

4. Components

Radical 讠 · Speech Radical (speech, words, communication)

Semantic Clue (形旁): 讠 (indicates that the action relates to words, speech, and language)

Phonetic Clue (声旁): 幸 (original sound: xìng / yì)

Take words (讠) and process them through good fortune or precise transformation (幸) so that two different people can understand each other happily.

讠 speech / words (semantic clue)
幸 fortunate / phonetic clue providing the sound basis

5. History

Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)

Origin: Combined from 言 (words/speech) to denote language, and 幸 (originally phonetic or indicating an exchange/shift), evolving to signify converting one language into another.

Semantic Evolution: Originally meant explaining or interpreting foreign speech, then generalized to all forms of translation and decoding.

In ancient times, specialized官吏 (officials) called 译官 were employed to translate communications with neighboring tribes and kingdoms.

6. Sinosphere

7. Memory

Vivid Mnemonic Story

You use your SPEECH (讠) to turn foreign words into Fortune/Success (幸) when you TRANSLATE them smoothly.

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

译

yìto translateBase character with speech radical.

择

zéto chooseUses hand radical (扌) instead of speech radical.

Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)

择(zé)

择 has the hand radical (扌) for picking/choosing with hands, whereas 译 has the speech radical (讠) for translating with words.

8. Mastery

Active Recall Challenge

我们需要把这篇小说[___]成中文。

Clue: yì

Common Learner Pitfall

Confusing the phonetic right side (幸) with similar looking components, or mixing up the left radical with 氵 (water) or 犭 (animal).

Memory Prompts

Recognition: What does the character 译 mean, and what is its Pinyin with tone?

Production: How do you write the character for 'to translate' (yì) using the speech radical?

译yìto translate

Speed:

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