以 (yǐ): by means of; with

Meanings

1 by means of; with
2 in order to; so as to
3 because of; according to

Characters

以

yǐ

by means of; with; in order to

Examples

可以帮我吗？

Kěyǐ bāng wǒ ma?

Can you help me?

以后再说吧。

Yǐhòu zàishuō ba.

Let's talk about it later.

我以为你走了。

Wǒ yǐwéi nǐ zǒu le.

I thought you had left.

Tips

usage

以 is a classical Chinese function word that remains very productive: 可以 (can), 以后 (after/later), 以前 (before/ago), 以为 (to think/assume), 以上 (above), 以下 (below), 所以 (therefore).

grammar

以 has a formal/literary tone. In patterns like 以...为... (to regard...as...) or 以便 (so that), it adds elegance to writing.

Components

radical

人 rén

person

Right person — the standing figure pictograph. The indexing radical of 以 (Kangxi #9). The picture was originally 'a person + the tool they wield' = 'using something to do something'. From there came every modern sense of 以: by means of, in order to, with, taking. Same radical anchors 人, 从, 众 — the human-body family. The two-stroke standalone form fits exactly here.

semantic

㠯 yǐ

graphic residue (originally a tool/handle)

Left two strokes — graphic residue of the original 以 picture, in which a person held up a tool, ladle, or plough handle to work with. The Ext-A char 㠯 is the unsimplified standalone form of this left side; modern simplified 以 keeps just two strokes as a stylised stand-in. Carries the 'use, by means of, with' core: the instrument being held.