伊 yī — he, she (arch.); that · English

伊

yī

he, she (arch.); that

At a glance · 伊

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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

⚠ Some ancient forms are not attested：oracle bone form、seal script form。No excavated oracle bone / seal artifact is attested for this character yet; we leave it blank rather than fabricate.

小篆从人（亻）尹声，形声字，本为人称或语助。隶楷作「伊」。

What the sketch shows

Origins & notes

「伊」本为语首助词或第三人称，亦用为水名。

Structure

形声字，人（亻）为意符，尹为声符。

At a glance

Pinyinyī

Radical亻

Strokes6

UnicodeU+4F0A

Character type形声

Theme虚词

Six languages, one character

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

English he, she (arch.); that He/she (archaic); a particle; Yi River.

Français il/elle (arch.); ce Il/elle (archaïque); particule; rivière Yi.

Español él/ella (arch.); ese Él/ella (arcaico); partícula; río Yi.

العربية هو/هي (قديمًا)؛ ذلك ضمير قديم أو أداة؛ نهر يي.

Русский он/она (уст.); тот Он/она (устар.); частица; река И.

Common words

伊yīhe/surname
伊始yī shǐbeginning

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