义 meaning and stroke order
Right conduct, propriety; justice
How to write 义, stroke by stroke
3 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
- 1
- 2
- 3
Meaning of 义
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- justice
- righteousness
- meaning
- foster (father etc)
- adopted
- artificial (tooth, limb etc)
How 义 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Sheep; simplified form of 義.
⺷ gives the meaning and 乂 hints at the sound.
Radical: 丿 (slash), shared by 19 characters on this site.
How to remember 义
义 is a dot 丶 placed over 乂 (yì), which also gives the sound. Picture the dot as a judge's single decisive mark over a crossed-out X: deciding what is right and what is wrong is 义, justice.
义 rarely stands alone in modern Chinese. It appears in words about meaning, like 意义 (yìyì) and 定义 (dìngyì), and in words about duty and justice, like 义务 (yìwù) and 正义 (zhèngyì). Example: 这个词是什么意思？它的含义很深。(Zhège cí shì shénme yìsi? Tā de hányì hěn shēn.) What does this word mean? Its implied meaning is deep.
Common mistake: Learners confuse 义 with 叉 (chā, fork) and 又 (yòu, again) because of the crossing strokes. 义 has a dot on top and a plain X below, while 叉 has the dot inside 又. Also do not mix up 意义 (yìyì, significance) with 意思 (yìsi, meaning of a word). 意义 is about importance or deeper sense.
Common words with 义
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 意义 | yìyì | sense; meaning | HSK 3 |
| 义务 | yìwù | duty; obligation (CL:項|项[xiang4]); volunteer (work etc) | HSK 4 |
| 含义 | hányì | meaning (implicit in a phrase); implied meaning | HSK 4 |
| 正义 | zhèngyì | justice; righteousness; just; righteous | HSK 5 |
| 名义 | míngyì | name; titular | HSK 6 |
| 定义 | dìngyì | definition; to define | HSK 7-9 |
| 社会主义 | shèhuì zhǔyì | socialism | HSK 7-9 |
| 资本主义 | zīběn zhǔyì | capitalism | HSK 7-9 |
| 主义 | zhǔyì | -ism; ideology | HSK 7-9 |
| 义工 | yìgōng | volunteer worker; volunteer work | HSK 7-9 |
| 帝国主义 | dìguó zhǔyì | imperialism | HSK 7-9 |
| 广义 | guǎngyì | broad sense; general sense | HSK 7-9 |
| 涵义 | hányì | content; meaning | HSK 7-9 |
| 侠义 | xiáyì | chivalrous; chivalry | HSK 7-9 |
义 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Characters that contain 义
Learning 义 makes these easier to recognize and write.
Questions about 义
How many strokes are in 义?
义 is written with 3 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 义 mean?
义 (yì) means right conduct, propriety; justice. A common word with it is 意义 (yìyì), meaning "sense; meaning".
How do you pronounce 义?
义 is pronounced yì, in the fourth tone (falling).
What is the radical of 义?
The radical of 义 is 丿, which carries the idea of "slash". Dictionaries list 义 under this radical.
What is the traditional form of 义?
The traditional form of 义 is 義. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 义 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
Is 义 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 义 is part of the HSK 3 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard, and you are expected to write it by hand from HSK 3.
Why does 义 appear in words like 社会主义 and 资本主义?
In 主义 (zhǔyì), 义 carries the sense of a principle or doctrine. 主义 works like the English suffix -ism, so 社会主义 is socialism and 资本主义 is capitalism.
How is 义 used to mean adopted or artificial?
Before a family term, 义 marks a non-blood tie, as in 义父 (yìfù, foster father). Before a body part it means artificial, as in 义齿 (yìchǐ, false tooth) or 义肢 (yìzhī, prosthetic limb).