咿 meaning and stroke order
A creaking sound; to laugh
How to write 咿, stroke by stroke
9 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
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- 9
Meaning of 咿
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- (onom.) to squeak
- variant of 咿[yi1]
How 咿 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Mouth.
口 gives the meaning and 伊 hints at the sound.
Radical: 口 (mouth), shared by 428 characters on this site.
How to remember 咿
A mouth 口 on the left plus 伊 (yī) on the right gives the sound. Picture a mouth making a thin "yī" squeak, like a creaky door or a baby babbling.
咿 is used almost only in sound words, usually doubled or paired. Common ones are 咿呀 (yīyā) for babbling or creaking and 咿咿呀呀 for a long string of such sounds. Example: 宝宝咿咿呀呀地说话。(Bǎobao yīyī yāyā de shuōhuà.) The baby babbles away.
Common mistake: Learners sometimes write just 伊 (yī) and forget the 口 on the left. In sound words the mouth radical signals that it is a noise, so 咿呀 should not be written 伊呀. Also keep the first tone. Do not read it as yí or yì.
Questions about 咿
How many strokes are in 咿?
咿 is written with 9 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 咿 mean?
咿 (yī) means a creaking sound; to laugh.
How do you pronounce 咿?
咿 is pronounced yī, in the first tone (high and level).
What is the radical of 咿?
The radical of 咿 is 口, which carries the idea of "mouth". Dictionaries list 咿 under this radical.
What is the traditional form of 咿?
The traditional form of 咿 is 吚. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 咿 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
What does 咿呀 mean?
咿呀 (yīyā) imitates sounds such as a creaking door, oars on a boat, or a baby trying to talk. It can also describe someone learning to speak, as in 咿呀学语 (yīyā xué yǔ), a baby learning to talk.
Can 咿 be used on its own as a word?
Rarely. In modern Chinese it almost always appears in onomatopoeic combinations like 咿呀 or 咿咿呀呀 rather than standing alone.