以 (yǐ): to use, by means of, according to, in order to, because of, at (a certain date or place)
以 (yǐ) is a Chinese character meaning “to use.” Classified as HSK Level 1 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 人 (structural). It ranks #23 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Definitions
- to use
- by means of
- according to
- in order to
- because of
- at (a certain date or place)
Stroke Order
Practice writing 以 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 以
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 可以verb/adjective | kě yǐ | can | 1 |
| 所以conjunction | suǒ yǐ | therefore | 2 |
| 以为verb | yǐ wéi | to think | 3 |
| 以前noun | yǐ qián | before | 3 |
| 以后noun | yǐ hòu | after | 3 |
| 以及conjunction | yǐ jí | and | 5 |
| 以来noun | yǐ lái | since (a previous event) | 5 |
| 难以verb | nán yǐ | hard to (predict, imagine etc) | 5 |
| 以外noun | yǐ wài | apart from | 3 |
| 以下noun | yǐ xià | that level or lower | 3 |
| 之所以conjunction | zhī suǒ yǐ | (after a noun N and before a predicate P) the reason why N P | 6 |
| 足以verb | zú yǐ | sufficient to... | 6 |
| 以上noun | yǐ shàng | that level or higher | 3 |
| 以便conjunction | yǐ biàn | so that | 6 |
| 以往noun | yǐ wǎng | in the past | 6 |
| 得以verb | dé yǐ | able to | 6 |
| 以免conjunction | yǐ miǎn | in order to avoid | 6 |
| 以内noun | yǐ nèi | within | 4 |
| 加以verb/conjunction | jiā yǐ | in addition | 6 |
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 以色列 | yǐ sè liè | Israel |
| 以至于 | yǐ zhì yú | down to |
| 梦寐以求 | mèng mèi yǐ qiú | lit. to yearn for sth even in one's dreams (idiom) |
| 以此 | yǐ cǐ | with this |
| 以致 | yǐ zhì | to such an extent as to |
| 致以 | zhì yǐ | to express |
| 难以启齿 | nán yǐ qǐ chǐ | to be too embarrassed to mention sth (idiom) |
| 以防 | yǐ fáng | (so as) to avoid |
| 予以 | yǔ yǐ | to give |
| 以西 | yǐ xī | to the west of (suffix) |
| 用以 | yòng yǐ | in order to |
以 appears in 100 compound words: 44 as the first character, 29 as the last, and 27 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 以 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (77)
to not accept as correct; to disagree; to object; to disapprove; to not care; to not regard as important
to lower one's guard; to relax one's vigilance; to treat something lightly
in order to minimally fulfill one's responsibilities; in order to get off the hook
to not accept as correct; to disagree; to object; to disapprove; to not care; to not regard as important
Showing 12 of 77 idioms containing 以.
Example Sentences
他以优异的成绩毕业于名牌大学，很快就找到了理想的工作。
Tā yǐ yōuyì de chéngjì bìyè yú míngpái dàxué, hěn kuài jiù zhǎo dào le lǐxiǎng de gōngzuò.
He graduated from a prestigious university with excellent grades and quickly found his ideal job.
88%的阿拉伯民众反对承认以色列政权
8 8 de ā lā bó mín zhòng fǎn duì chéng rèn yǐ sè liè zhèng quán
88% of the Arab population opposes the recognition of the Israeli regime
以为黄金!贼闯宅偷宝盒 他:是我肾结石
yǐ wéi huáng jīn ! zéi chuǎng zhái tōu bǎo hé tā : shì wǒ shèn jié shí
Think it's gold! Thieves break into the house and steal treasure boxes He: It's my kidney stones
“城管蓝”护“新春红” 长沙城管以坚守绘就星城团圆..
chéng guǎn lán hù xīn chūn hóng cháng shā chéng guǎn yǐ jiān shǒu huì jiù xīng chéng tuán yuán . .
Urban Management Blue Guards the New Year Red Changsha's Urban Management Officers Paint a Picture of Family Reunion in the Star City Through Their Dedication...
科学内调成美肤新刚需,肌原光以“产学研”硬实力登陆..
kē xué nèi diào chéng měi fū xīn gāng xū , jī yuán guāng yǐ chǎn xué yán yìng shí lì dēng lù . .
Scientifically Formulated Skincare Emerges as New Beauty Essential, Jiyuan Guang Lands with Industry-Academia-Research Strength...
在浙江,看完电影票根别扔!可以当钱用
zài zhè jiāng , kàn wán diàn yǐng piào gēn bié rēng ! kě yǐ dāng qián yòng
In Zhejiang, don't throw away your movie ticket stubs! They can be used as money.
我可以用支票付吗？
Wǒ kěyǐ yòng zhīpiào fù ma?
May I pay by check?
我们可以在大楼里拍照吗？
Wǒmen kěyǐ zài dàlóu lǐ pāizhào ma?
Is it all right to take pictures in this building?
你可以给我一些建议吗？
Nǐ kěyǐ gěi wǒ yīxiē jiànyì ma?
Can you give me some advice?
我今天可以早退吗？
Wǒ jīntiān kěyǐ zǎotuì ma?
May I leave school early today?
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 以 (yǐ) mean in Chinese?
How many strokes does 以 have?
What is the radical of 以?
What are the components of 以?
What are common words containing 以?
What characters sound the same as 以 (yǐ)?
Is 以 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 以 with real-time feedback
Trace stroke sequences, hear native pronunciation, and build lasting retention with spaced repetition in the HanziFeed app.