Meaning of 一
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- one
- single
- a (article)
- as soon as
- entire; whole; all; throughout
- "one" radical in Chinese characters (Kangxi radical 1)
- also pr. [yao1] for greater clarity when spelling out numbers digit by digit
How to use 一
一 (yī) means one, but it also works like the English article a in phrases such as 一个人 (yí ge rén, a person), and it can mean whole, as in 一天 (yìtiān, the whole day). The pattern 一...就... means as soon as: 我一到家就睡觉。(Wǒ yí dào jiā jiù shuìjiào.) As soon as I get home, I sleep.
一 (yī) is a single horizontal stroke, like one finger laid flat or one tally mark. One line means one.
Common mistake: Learners often say yī with a first tone everywhere, but it changes to yí before a fourth tone, as in 一样 (yíyàng), and to yì before other tones, as in 一起 (yìqǐ). It stays yī only when counting, in ordinals like 第一 (dì yī), or at the end of a word.
一 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
一 yī · one · 1 strokes
- 1
Related words
Words that share a character with 一.
| 一起 | yīqǐ | (in) the same place; together; in company (with) |
| 一样 | yīyàng | same; like |
| 一些 | yīxiē | some; a few; a little; (following an adjective) slightly ...er |
| 一会儿 | yīhuìr | a moment; a while |
| 一半 | yībàn | half |
| 一边 | yībiān | one side; either side |
| 一点儿 | yīdiǎnr | erhua variant of 一點|一点[yi1 dian3] |
| 一块儿 | yīkuàir | erhua variant of 一塊|一块[yi1 kuai4] |
| 一下儿 | yīxiàr | erhua form of 一下[yi1 xia4] |
| 有一些 | yǒuyīxiē | somewhat; rather |
| 一定 | yīdìng | surely; certainly; definitely; fixed; settled |
| 一直 | yīzhí | straight (in a straight line); continuously; always; all the way through |
Questions about 一
What does 一 mean?
一 (yī) means "one; single" and is used as a numeral.
How do you write 一?
一 is made of 1 character: 一 (1 strokes). That is 1 strokes in total.
Is 一 an HSK word?
Yes. 一 is on the HSK 1 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
Why do Chinese people say yāo instead of yī for phone numbers?
When reading numbers digit by digit, such as phone numbers, room numbers, or bus routes, 一 is often pronounced yāo. This keeps it from being confused with 七 (qī), which sounds similar.
What is the difference between 一 (yī) and 二 (èr) or 两 (liǎng)?
一 is one. For two, use 二 (èr) when counting or in numbers like 十二, and use 两 (liǎng) before a measure word, as in 两个人 (liǎng ge rén, two people).