Meaning of 之一
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- one of (sth)
- one out of a multitude
- one (third, quarter, percent etc)
How to use 之一
之一 comes at the end of a phrase, after the group it belongs to, usually in the pattern 是...之一. It sounds a bit formal and is common in news, writing and speeches. Example: 北京是中国最大的城市之一。(Běijīng shì Zhōngguó zuì dà de chéngshì zhīyī.) Beijing is one of the largest cities in China.
之 (zhī) works like the old word for "of", and 一 (yī) is "one", so 之一 reads as "of them, one". Picture pointing at a crowd and picking out a single person.
Common mistake: English speakers often put it first, as in 之一中国的城市, but 之一 must follow the group: 中国的城市之一. Also do not write 一个最大的城市 to mean "one of the largest cities". Use 最大的城市之一.
之一 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.
之 zhī · possessive particle · 3 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
一 yī · one · 1 strokes
- 1
Related words
Words that share a character with 之一.
| 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 之一
What does 之一 mean?
之一 (zhīyī) means "one of (sth); one out of a multitude" and is used as a noun.
How do you write 之一?
之一 is made of 2 characters: 之 (3 strokes), 一 (1 strokes). That is 4 strokes in total.
Is 之一 an HSK word?
Yes. 之一 is on the HSK 4 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How do I say fractions like one third with 之一?
Put the denominator first, then 分之一: 三分之一 (sān fēn zhī yī) is one third, and 百分之一 (bǎi fēn zhī yī) is one percent. For other numerators, change the last number, as in 四分之三 (sì fēn zhī sān), three quarters.
Can I use 之一 in casual conversation?
Yes, people say it in speech too, especially in the pattern 是...之一. In very casual talk, people may also say 其中一个 (qízhōng yí gè), "one of them", which sounds lighter.