一 yī — one · English

一

yī

one

At a glance · 一

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Evolution of the glyph

Five stages, from a sketch of the real object to regular script — tap a stage, drag the timeline, or play the animation.

Object sketchBefore writing · drawing what was seen
Oracle boneShang dynasty · c. 1300–1046 BCE
Seal scriptQin dynasty · 221–206 BCE
Clerical scriptHan dynasty · 206 BCE–220 CE
Regular scriptWei–Jin to Tang · c. 3rd–9th century CE

Object sketchBefore writing · drawing what was seenOracle boneShang dynasty · c. 1300–1046 BCESeal scriptQin dynasty · 221–206 BCEClerical scriptHan dynasty · 206 BCE–220 CERegular scriptWei–Jin to Tang · c. 3rd–9th century CE

一字甲骨文、金文作一横，为指事字，以一画表数之始；小篆、隶楷承之。

What the sketch shows

Origins & notes

一本义为最小整数、单一。

Structure

一为指事字，以一划标示数目之始。

At a glance

Pinyinyī

Radical一

Strokes1

UnicodeU+4E00

Character type指事

Theme数术

Six languages, one character

Each page offers hreflang versions; switching language keeps the glyphs and meanings aligned.

English one Yi is an ideograph of a single horizontal stroke marking the number one.

Français un Yi est un caractère indicatif d'un seul trait marquant le nombre un.

Español uno Yi es un carácter indicativo de un solo trazo que marca el número uno.

العربية واحد يي حرف دال بخط أفقي واحد على العدد واحد.

Русский один И — указательный знак одной горизонтальной чертой, обозначающей число один.

Common words

一个yí gèone
统一tǒng yīunify

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