Where 意 comes from
heart
- Meaning part
- 心 (“heart”)
- Sound part
- 音 (“sound”)
How to write 意 (yì, “idea”)
意 (yì), an HSK 2 character, means “idea”, “intention” and “Italy”. It pairs a meaning part, 心 (“heart”), with a sound part, 音 (“sound”). Among the HSK words it appears in 意思 (“idea”), 有意思 (“interesting”) and 没意思 (“boring”). Japanese reads it i, “idea”, as a JLPT N4 kanji.
- Pinyin
- yì
- Strokes
- 13
- HSK
- 2
- Radical
- 心 (“heart”)
Stroke by stroke
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
- 10
- 11
- 12
- 13
As a top-bottom character it splits into 音 (“sound”), strokes 1–9; 心 (“heart”, the radical), strokes 10–13, written the top first.
- topdown and right
- top leftrightwards
- Dottopa dot
- topdown and right → down and left
- leftrightwards
- leftdown and right
- leftrightwards → downwards
- centerrightwards
- bottomrightwards
- bottom leftdownwards
- bottom leftdown and right → rightwards → up and left
- bottomdown and right
- rightdown and right
Japanese and Chinese
The two models differ in shape, so our comparison does not claim an order; compare the numbered frames yourself (13 strokes in Japanese, 13 strokes in Chinese).
Trace it
Follow the numbers. Tracing help
Pinyin and meaning
| Pinyin | Meanings | Traditional | In words |
|---|---|---|---|
| yì fourth tone | (bound form) idea; thought; meaning; sense; (bound form) intention; feeling; inclination; state of mind; (bound form) Italy (abbr. for 意大利 (Yìdàlì)) | — | 意思 有意思 没意思 不好意思 |
- HSK 2025 syllabus
- level 2
- 2021 standard
- level 2
- HSK 2.0
- in a level 2 word
- Words with it
- 308 in CC-CEDICT
Words with 意
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 意思 | yìsi | idea; opinion HSK 2 |
| 有意思 | yǒuyìsi | interesting; meaningful HSK 2 |
| 没意思 沒意思 | méiyìsi | boring; of no interest HSK 2 |
| 不好意思 | bùhǎoyìsi | to feel embarrassed; to find it embarrassing HSK 2 |
| 同意 | tóngyì | to agree; to consent HSK 3 |
| 愿意 願意 | yuànyì | to wish; to want HSK 3 |
| 注意 | zhùyì | to take note of; to pay attention to HSK 3 |
| 满意 滿意 | mǎnyì | satisfied; pleased HSK 3 |
| 得意 | déyì | proud of oneself; pleased with oneself HSK 4 |
| 意见 意見 | yìjiàn | idea; opinion HSK 4 |
HSK words first (CC-CEDICT).
Practice sheet
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Keep going
HSK 2, in list order: