抑 (yì): to restrain, to restrict, to keep down
抑 (yì) is a Chinese character meaning “to restrain.” Classified as HSK Level 6 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 扌 (semantic) and 卬 (phonetic). It ranks #1732 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 抑 hand. Its radical form 扌 (hand) appears in many related characters such as 手 (shǒu, hand), 打 (dǎ, hit, make), 找 (zhǎo, to look for).
Definitions
- to restrain
- to restrict
- to keep down
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
Practice writing 抑 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 抑
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 压抑 | yā yì | to constrain or repress emotions |
| 抑郁 | yì yù | depressed |
| 抑郁症 | yì yù zhèng | clinical depression |
| 抑或 | yì huò | or |
| 抑止 | yì zhǐ | to supress |
| 抑扬顿挫 | yì yáng dùn cuò | see 頓挫抑揚|顿挫抑扬[dun4 cuo4 yi4 yang2] |
| 抑扬 | yì yáng | modulation (rising and falling pitch) |
| 贬抑 | biǎn yì | to belittle |
| 抑制作用 | yì zhì zuò yòng | inhibition |
| 笑不可抑 | xiào bù kě yì | to laugh irrepressibly |
| 共模抑制比 | gòng mó yì zhì bǐ | (electronics) common-mode rejection ratio (CMRR) |
| 自抑 | zì yì | to control oneself |
| 抑郁不平 | yì yù bù píng | in a state of depression (idiom) |
| 产后抑郁 | chǎn hòu yì yù | postpartum depression |
| 平抑 | píng yì | to stabilize |
抑 appears in 33 compound words: 45 as the first character, 30 as the last, and 24 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 抑 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (3)
Example Sentences
他抑了一个电话，约朋友晚上一起吃饭。
tā yì le yī gě diàn huà , yāo péng yǒu wǎn shǎng yī qǐ chī fàn .
He made a phone call to arrange dinner with a friend that evening.
...勃不起是什么原因引起的呢?长期服用降压药抑制勃起反射吗
. . . bó bù qǐ shì shén má yuán yīn yǐn qǐ de ne ? cháng qī fú yòng jiàng yā yào yì zhì bó qǐ fǎn shè ma
... What causes an erection? Does long-term use of antihypertensive drugs suppress erectile reflex?
男人勃不起是什么原因引起的呢?酗酒抑制中枢神经系统功能吗
nán rén bó bù qǐ shì shén má yuán yīn yǐn qǐ de ne ? xù jiǔ yì zhì zhōng shū shén jīng xì tǒng gōng néng ma
What causes men to have an erection? Does alcohol inhibit central nervous system function?
...起是什么原因引起的呢?肥胖引发雌激素升高抑制雄激素吗
. . . qǐ shì shén má yuán yīn yǐn qǐ de ne ? féi pàng yǐn fā cí jī sù shēng gāo yì zhì xióng jī sù ma
... What causes it? Does obesity cause an increase in estrogen and inhibit androgens?
妇科白斑怎么治疗才能彻底根除?焦虑抑郁会加重瘙痒感吗
fù kē bái bān zěn má zhì liáo cái néng chè de gēn chú ? jiāo lǜ yì yù huì jiā chóng 瘙 yǎng gǎn ma
How can vaginal leukoplakia be completely cured? Can anxiety and depression make the itching worse?
...人老是硬不起来怎么处理?工作压力大会不会抑制睾酮分泌
. . . rén lǎo shì yìng bù qǐ lái zěn má chǔ lǐ ? gōng zuò yā lì dà huì bù huì yì zhì 睾 酮 fēn mì
... How to deal with people who can't get up? Work stress does not inhibit testosterone secretion
我无法压抑心中的怒火。
Wǒ wúfǎ yāyì xīnzhōng de nùhuǒ.
I couldn't keep my anger down.
当她看到那件衣服, 她无法抑制自己的笑声。
Dāng tā kàn dào nà jiàn yīfu, tā wúfǎ yìzhì zìjǐ de xiàoshēng.
She could hardly keep from laughing when she saw the dress.
她有时变得心情抑郁。
Tā yǒushí biànde xīnqíng yìyù.
She sometimes goes into a mood of depression.
石楠花有助于抑制花园里的杂草。
Shí nán huā yǒuzhùyú yìzhì huāyuán lǐ de zácǎo.
Heathers help to suppress weeds in your garden.
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
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What characters sound the same as 抑 (yì)?
Is 抑 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
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