一 (yī): one, single, a (article)
一 (yī) is a Chinese character meaning “one.” Classified as HSK Level 1 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), with radical 一 (one). It ranks #2 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 一 represents heaven (天), earth (旦), or the number 1. Its radical form 一 (one) appears in many related characters such as 七 (qī, seven), 三 (sān, three), 上 (shàng, (bound form) up).
Definitions
- one
- single
- a (article)
Etymology & Origin
ideographicRepresents heaven (天), earth (旦), or the number 1
Stroke Order
Practice writing 一 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 一
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 一起adverb | yī qǐ | (in) the same place | 2 |
| 一样adjective | yī yàng | same | 3 |
| 一下numeral-measure/adverb | yī xià | (after a verb) a bit | 1 |
| 一直adverb | yī zhí | straight (in a straight line) | 3 |
| 一切pronoun | yī qiè | everything | 4 |
| 一定adjective/adverb | yī dìng | surely | 3 |
| 一些numeral-measure | yī xiē | some | 1 |
| 唯一adjective | wéi yī | only | 5 |
| 一会儿numeral-measure/adverb | yī huì r | a moment | 2 |
| 一旦adverb | yī dàn | in case (sth happens) | 5 |
| 一半numeral | yī bàn | half | 1 |
| 一边adverb | yī biān | one side | 3 |
| 一般adjective | yī bān | same | 3 |
| 一生noun | yī shēng | all one's life | 4 |
| 有一点儿adverb | yǒu yī diǎn r | a bit | 1 |
| 一辈子noun | yī bèi zi | (for) a lifetime | 6 |
| 一一adverb | yī yī | one by one | 6 |
| 一致adjective/adverb | yī zhì | consistent | 5 |
| 一路noun/adverb | yī lù | the whole journey | 5 |
| 万一noun/conjunction | wàn yī | just in case | 5 |
| 一点儿numeral-measure | yī diǎn r | erhua variant of 一點|一点 | 1 |
| 进一步adverb | jìn yī bù | to go a step further | 5 |
| 一时noun/adverb | yī shí | a period of time | 6 |
| 一模一样phrase | yī mú yī yàng | (idiom) exactly alike | 6 |
| 一向adverb | yī xiàng | a period of time in the recent past | 6 |
| 一共adverb | yī gòng | in total | 3 |
| 一阵numeral-measure | yī zhèn | a burst | 6 |
| 一流adjective | yī liú | top quality | 6 |
| 一块儿noun/adverb | yī kuài r | erhua variant of 一塊|一块 | 3 |
| 统一verb/adjective | tǒng yī | to unify | 5 |
| 同一adjective | tóng yī | identical | 5 |
| 大吃一惊verb | dà chī yī jīng | (idiom) astounded | 6 |
| 一同adverb | yī tóng | together | 6 |
| 一带noun | yī dài | region | 6 |
| 一贯adjective | yī guàn | consistent | 6 |
| 一次性adjective | yī cì xìng | one-off (offer) | 5 |
| 一代noun | yī dài | an era | 5 |
| 一路顺风interjection | yī lù shùn fēng | to have a pleasant journey (idiom) | 5 |
| 一身noun | yī shēn | whole body | 6 |
| 一再adverb | yī zài | repeatedly | 6 |
| 一道adverb | yī dào | together | 6 |
| 一帆风顺phrase | yī fān fēng shùn | propitious wind throughout the journey (idiom) | 6 |
| 单一adjective | dān yī | single | 5 |
| 一口气adverb | yī kǒu qì | one breath | 6 |
| 一律adverb | yī lǜ | same | 6 |
| 差一点儿adjective/adverb | chà yī diǎn r | erhua variant of 差一點|差一点 | 4 |
| 一系列adjective | yī xì liè | a series of | 6 |
一 appears in 201 compound words: 68 as the first character, 12 as the last, and 20 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 一 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (300)
outside appearance and inner reality differ (idiom); not what it seems; saying one thing but meaning sth different
to have a style of one's own; to have a unique style; in a class by itself; peculiar
Showing 12 of 300 idioms containing 一.
Example Sentences
一大早，他就出门去市场买菜，准备晚上的家庭聚餐。
Yī dà zǎo, tā jiù chūmén qù shìchǎng mǎi cài, zhǔnbèi wǎnshang de jiātíng jùcān.
Early in the morning, he went out to the market to buy groceries, preparing for the family dinner in the evening.
(新春走基层)从塔里木河到钱塘江:一颗“石榴籽”的..
xīn chūn zǒu jī céng cóng tǎ lǐ mù hé dào qián táng jiāng yī kē shí 榴 籽 de . .
(Chinese New Year) From Tarim River to Qiantang River: A "Pomegranate Seed" of...
大年初一,浙大发顶刊论文:用人工智能为膜蛋白造“...
dà nián chū yī , zhè dà fā dǐng kān lún wén yòng rén gōng zhì néng wéi mó dàn bái zào . . .
On the first day of the Chinese New Year, ZJU issued a top paper: "Artificial Intelligence for Membrane Proteins"...
超标近2000倍 日本石川县一处地下水检出高浓度有..
chāo biāo jìn bèi rì běn shí chuān xiàn yī chǔ dì xià shuǐ jiǎn chū gāo nóng dù yǒu . .
Nearly 2,000 times the limit, a groundwater in Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan, was found to have high concentrations of...
一文回顾徐梦桃冬奥会风雪卫冕路:16年间参...
yī wén huí gù xú mèng táo dōng ào huì fēng xuě wèi 冕 lù nián jiān cān . . .
An article review Xu Mengtao Winter Olympics wind and snow defense road: 16 years to participate in...
一杯热水赠归人 一句感谢显温情 环兰高速人...
yī bēi rè shuǐ zèng guī rén yī gōu gǎn xiè xiǎn wēn qíng huán lán gāo sù rén . . .
A cup of hot water for the returnees A word of thanks to show the warmth of the Huanlan Expressway...
我能用一下你的铅笔吗？
Wǒ néng yòng yīxià nǐ de qiānbǐ ma?
Can I borrow your pencil for a bit?
他们都是一样的吗？
Tāmen dōu shì yīyàng de ma?
Are they all the same?
你可以说慢一点吗？
Nǐ kěyǐ shuō màn yīdiǎn ma?
Could you speak more slowly?
这本书是不是他一直用的？
Zhè běn shū shìbùshì tā yīzhí yòng de?
Is this book the one he always uses?
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 一 (yī) mean in Chinese?
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Is 一 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 一 with real-time feedback
Trace stroke sequences, hear spoken pronunciation, and build lasting retention with spaced repetition in the HanziFeed app.