倚 (yǐ): to lean on

Meanings

1 to lean on
2 to rely on
3 to rest against

Characters

倚

yǐ

to lean on; to rely on

Examples

她倚在窗边看风景。

Tā yǐ zài chuāng biān kàn fēngjǐng.

She leaned against the window looking at the scenery.

他倚着一棵大树休息。

Tā yǐ zhe yī kē dàshù xiūxi.

He rested leaning against a big tree.

Tips

usage

倚 is more literary than 靠 (kào). In everyday speech, 靠 is preferred for 'lean on.' 倚 appears in literary contexts and idioms like 倚靠 or 倚仗 (to depend on).

Components

radical

亻 rén

person (radical form of 人)

Left-side person radical, the two-stroke side form of 人. Indexes 倚 in the big family of human-action chars alongside 休 to rest, 住 to dwell, 信 to trust. Leaning requires a body propped against a support — the radical names the leaner.

phonetic

奇 qí

strange; odd (here phonetic)

Right side 奇 supplies the sound: qí shifted to yǐ via a regular q/y alternation with tone change. The same phonetic appears in 寄 to entrust, 骑 to ride, 椅 chair — all pronounced jì/qí/yǐ, a tight phonetic family. 椅 (chair) is especially close: a chair is the canonical thing one leans on.