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义

義
yì
noun #6,394

Meanings

  1. 1 justice; righteousness
  2. 2 meaning; significance
  3. 3 loyalty (between friends)

Examples

HSK 3
这个词是什么意义？
Zhège cí shì shénme yìyì?
What is the meaning of this word?
HSK 4
他很讲义气。
Tā hěn jiǎng yìqì.
He is very loyal to his friends.

Tips

usage
义 is mostly used in compounds: 意义 (meaning), 正义 (justice), 义务 (duty/obligation), 主义 (doctrine/-ism). It is rarely used as a standalone word in modern Chinese.
culture
义 is one of the core Confucian virtues. In Chinese history and literature, 义 represents loyalty between sworn brothers, famously embodied by Guan Yu (关羽) in Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

Components

radical
丶 zhǔ
dot stroke (simplified residue)
Xinhua indexes 义 under the 丶 (dot) radical, picking the top dot as the anchor. The dot is a simplification residue standing in for the much fuller traditional 義 (which had 羊 sheep on top of 我 weapon-hand); the modern form keeps only this minimal marker.
ideograph
乂 yì
crossing strokes
Two crossing strokes forming an abstract X-shape beneath the dot above. Together with the dot they give the simplified silhouette that replaces traditional 義 in the meanings 'righteousness, justice, meaning'. Historically the 'mowing' or 'governing' graph 乂, repurposed here as a pure shape.

Stroke Order

义 yì