贻 (yí): to bequeath; to leave behind

Meanings

1 to bequeath; to leave behind
2 to cause (trouble, harm)

Characters

贻

yí

to bequeath; to cause

Examples

他的失误贻误了整个工程。

Tā de shīwù yíwù le zhěnggè gōngchéng.

His mistake delayed the whole project.

乱说话只会贻笑大方。

Luàn shuōhuà zhǐhuì yíxiàodàfāng.

If you speak rashly, you will only make a fool of yourself in front of experts.

Tips

usage

贻 mostly carries a negative result: 贻误 (to cause delay or harm) and 贻笑大方 (to make oneself a laughingstock to the experts).

Components

radical

贝 bèi

shell; money

The shell radical; cowrie shells were ancient money. The original sense is to give or hand down something of value, so the money radical roots the bequeath meaning.

phonetic

台 tái

platform; stage

Supplies the sound, here read yí rather than tái. The platform meaning does not enter the word, only the reading, the same role 台 plays in 怡 and 饴.

Stroke Order

贻 yí

Related Words

贻误 yíwù

to delay and harm / to cause adverse delay / to mislead and waste

贻人口实 yírén-kǒushí

to give others a handle (against oneself) / to leave oneself open to criticism / to give people something to talk about

贻笑大方 yíxiào-dàfāng #53,042

to make a fool of oneself before experts / to be laughed at by those in the know

贻贝 yíbèi #52,586

mussel / sea mussel

梅贻琦 MéiYíqí

Mei Yiqi (1889-1962) / physicist and long-serving president of Tsinghua University (1931-1948, and National Tsing Hua University in Taiwan 1956-1962)

惹麻烦 rěmáfan #3,911

to cause trouble / to get into trouble

害 hài HSK 5 #1,494

harm; evil / to cause harm; to be afraid

留下 liúxià HSK 2 #680

to leave behind / to stay behind

落后 luòhòu HSK 3 #4,978

to fall behind; to lag behind / backward; underdeveloped

扔下 rēngxià #5,051

to throw down / to abandon / to leave behind