倚 (yǐ): to lean on, to rely upon
倚 (yǐ) is a Chinese character meaning “to lean on.” Classified as HSK Level 7-9 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 亻 (semantic) and 奇 (phonetic). It ranks #2504 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 倚 person. Its radical form 亻 (person) appears in many related characters such as 人 (rén, person), 什 (shén, what), 今 (jīn, now).
Definitions
- to lean on
- to rely upon
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
Practice writing 倚 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 倚靠verb | yǐ kào | to lean on |
| 不偏不倚phrase | bù piān bù yǐ | (idiom) even-handed |
| 倚重verb | yǐ zhòng | to rely heavily upon |
| 倚赖verb | yǐ lài | to rely on |
| 倚老卖老phrase | yǐ lǎo mài lǎo | (idiom) to flaunt one's seniority |
| 倚仗verb | yǐ zhàng | to lean on |
| 无倚无靠phrase | wú yǐ wú kào | see 無依無靠|无依无靠 |
| 倚天屠龙记 | yǐ tiān tú lóng jì | Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber, wuxia (武俠|武侠, martial arts chivalry) novel by Jin Yong 金庸 and it... |
| 倚托 | yǐ tuō | to rely upon |
| 蒹葭倚玉树 | jiān jiā yǐ yù shù | lit. reeds leaning on a jade tree (idiom) |
| 背倚 | bèi yǐ | to have one's back against |
| 蒹葭倚玉 | jiān jiā yǐ yù | see 蒹葭倚玉樹|蒹葭倚玉树 |
| 偏倚noun | piān yǐ | to be partial |
| 凭倚 | píng yǐ | to rely on |
| 斜倚 | xié yǐ | to recline |
倚 appears in 15 compound words: 47 as the first character, 33 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 倚 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (4)
synonym of 無依無靠 /无依无靠 (wúyīwúkào, “to have no one to depend on; to be helpless”)
to rely on one's seniority or old age to look down on others or do things
synonym of 無依無靠 /无依无靠 (wúyīwúkào, “to have no one to depend on; to be helpless”)
to rely on one's seniority or old age to look down on others or do things
Example Sentences
她倚长得很美，心地也很善良。
tā yǐ cháng dé hěn měi , xīn dì yě hěn shàn liáng .
She is exceptionally beautiful and has a kind heart.
张无忌接任明教教主，是整部《倚天屠龙记》里最没道理的一次人事任命。
zhāng wú jì jiē rèn míng jiào jiào zhǔ , shì zhěng bù yǐ tiān tú lóng jì lǐ zuì méi dào lǐ de yī cì rén shì rèn mìng .
Zhang Wuji's appointment as the leader of the Ming Cult was the most illogical personnel decision in the entire *The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber*.
幽深古巷间，孩童嬉闹声阵阵，老者倚门闲坐，寻常生活就在古迹之中徐徐展开。
yōu shēn gǔ xiàng jiān , hái tóng xī nào shēng zhèn zhèn , lǎo zhě yǐ mén xián zuò , xún cháng shēng huó jiù zài gǔ jì zhī zhōng xú xú zhǎn kāi .
In the deep, ancient alleys, the sounds of children playing echo here and there, while an elderly man sits idly by his door; everyday life unfolds slowly amid the historic sites.
研究团队使用传统方法测量了倚天剑的高度：爬上树，从树顶垂下卷尺。
yán jiū tuán duì shǐ yòng chuán tǒng fāng fǎ cè liàng le yǐ tiān jiàn de gāo dù : pá shàng shù , cóng shù dǐng chuí xià juǎn chǐ .
The research team used a traditional method to measure the height of the Yitian Sword: they climbed a tree and lowered a tape measure from the top of the tree.
杨紫饰演的角色倚湖沉思的经典镜头就在此拍摄。
yáng zǐ shì yǎn de jiǎo sè yǐ hú chén sī de jīng diǎn jìng tóu jiù zài cǐ pāi shè .
The iconic scene in which Yang Zi's character is seen lost in thought by the lake was filmed right here.
李丽珍女儿许倚榕认将结婚 晒钻戒公开正版求婚片 与富贵...
lǐ lí zhēn nǚ ér xǔ yǐ 榕 rèn jiāng jié hūn shài zuān jiè gōng kāi zhèng bǎn qiú hūn piàn yǔ fù guì . . .
Li Lijun's daughter, Xu Yirong, confirms her engagement, shares a photo of her diamond ring, and releases the official proposal video with Fu Gui...
他把梯子倚着栅栏放。
Tā bǎ tīzi yǐ zhe zhàlán fàng.
He placed the ladder against the fence.
他倚着我的肩膀睡着了。
Tā yǐ zhe wǒ de jiānbǎng shuìzháo le.
He fell asleep on my shoulder.
Character Family
Semantic Family — Characters sharing the 亻 (person) component
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 倚 (yǐ) mean in Chinese?
What's the difference between 倚 and 骑?
How many strokes does 倚 have?
What is the radical of 倚?
What are the components of 倚?
What are common words containing 倚?
What characters sound the same as 倚 (yǐ)?
Is 倚 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 倚 with real-time feedback
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