How to write 一 (yī, “one”)

一 (yī), an HSK 1 character, means “one”, “single” and “a”. It is the number 1. On its own it is an HSK 1 word; it also forms 一下 (“a bit”), 一些 (“some”) and 一半 (“half”). Japanese reads it ichi, “one”, as a JLPT N5 kanji.

Pinyin: yī
Strokes: 1
HSK: 1
Radical: 一 (“one”)

Stroke by stroke

Horizontal ㇐leftrightwards

Names of the strokes

Japanese and Chinese

Japanese and Chinese draw all 1 stroke in the same order and direction, by our stroke-by-stroke comparison.

Japanese · KanjiVG · 1 stroke

Chinese · Make Me a Hanzi · 1 stroke

一 in numbers

一下 — (after a verb) a bit
一些 — some
一半 — half
一起 — the same place
一会儿 — a moment

Trace it

Follow the numbers. Tracing help

Pinyin and meaning

Pinyin	Meanings	Traditional	In words
yī first tone	one; single; a (article); as soon as; entire; whole; all; throughout	—	一下一些一半一起

HSK 2025 syllabus: level 1
2021 standard: level 1
HSK 2.0: in a level 1 word
Words with it: 885 in CC-CEDICT

Words with 一

Word	Pinyin	Meaning
一	yī	one; single HSK 1
一下	yíxià	(after a verb) a bit; a little… HSK 1
一些	yìxiē	some; a few HSK 1
一半	yíbàn	half HSK 1
一起	yìqǐ	the same place; together HSK 2
一会儿一會兒	yíhuìr	a moment; a while HSK 2
一样一樣	yíyàng	same; like HSK 3
一边一邊	yìbiān	one side; either side HSK 3
一共	yígòng	in total; altogether HSK 3
一定	yídìng	surely; certainly HSK 3

HSK words first (CC-CEDICT).

Practice sheet

Print at 100%. Several characters: worksheet maker.

Keep going

Contain it:

HSK 1, in list order: