遗 (yí): (bound form) to leave behind
遗 (yí) is a Chinese character meaning “(bound form) to leave behind.” Classified as HSK Level 5 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 辶 (structural) and 贵 (structural). It ranks #892 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 遗 to leave 辶 something valuable 贵 behind. Its radical form 辶 (walk) appears in many related characters such as 边 (biān, side), 过 (guò, to pass, past), 还 (hái, still, return).
Definitions
- (bound form) to leave behind
Etymology & Origin
ideographicTo leave 辶 something valuable 贵 behind
Decomposition: ⿺辶贵 (layout: surround-from-lower-left)
Stroke Order
Practice writing 遗 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 遗
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 遗憾noun/adjective | yí hàn | regret | 5 |
| 遗传verb | yí chuán | heredity | 6 |
| 遗产noun | yí chǎn | heritage | 6 |
| 遗址noun | yí zhǐ | ruins | 6 |
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 遗嘱 | yí zhǔ | testament |
| 遗忘 | yí wàng | to forget |
| 遗弃 | yí qì | to leave |
| 遗体 | yí tǐ | remains (of a dead person) |
| 遗言 | yí yán | words of the deceased |
| 遗漏 | yí lòu | to overlook |
| 遗书 | yí shū | posthumous writing |
| 遗失 | yí shī | to lose |
| 遗物 | yí wù | remnant |
| 遗孀 | yí shuāng | widow |
| 遗留 | yí liú | to leave behind |
| 遗愿 | yí yuàn | final wishes of the departed |
| 遗迹 | yí jì | trace |
| 后遗症 | hòu yí zhèng | (medicine) sequelae |
| 遗骸 | yí hái | (dead) human remains |
遗 appears in 100 compound words: 60 as the first character, 21 as the last, and 19 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 遗 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (14)
a person with talent or something valuable, but is neglected by the society
synonym of 路不拾遺 /路不拾遗 (lùbùshíyí, “no one pockets lost property on the road”)
detailed and nothing left out (idiom); meticulous and comprehensive; not missing an iota
to not eliminate bad people or the enemy and bring future trouble to oneself
synonym of 路不拾遺 /路不拾遗 (lùbùshíyí, “no one pockets lost property on the road”)
Showing 12 of 14 idioms containing 遗.
Example Sentences
他在公交车上遗失了钱包，幸好被好心人捡到归还。
Tā zài gōngjiāo chē shàng yíshī le qiánbāo, xìnghǎo bèi hǎoxīnrén jiǎndào guīhuán.
He lost his wallet on the bus; fortunately, a kind person found and returned it.
900克黄金遗漏列车 女乘客失而复得
9 0 0 kè huáng jīn yí lòu liè chē nǚ chéng kè shī ér fù dé
900 grams of gold missing train Female passenger lost and recovered
新闻中的法律/遗赠税修法 两议题聚焦
xīn wén zhōng de fǎ lǜ yí zèng shuì xiū fǎ liǎng yì tí jù jiāo
The law/bequest tax amendment in the news focuses on two issues
... 开心被网民指跟阿仪越来越似 黄夏蕙等收遗产开老人院
. . . kāi xīn bèi wǎng mín zhǐ gēn ā yí yuè lái yuè sì huáng xià 蕙 děng shōu yí chǎn kāi lǎo rén yuàn
... Happy was pointed out by netizens that he was becoming more and more like Ah Yi, and Huang Xiahui and others received an inheritance to open a nursing home
谱写春日序曲!明城墙遗址公园梅花绽放
pǔ xiě chūn rì xù qū ! míng chéng qiáng yí zhǐ gōng yuán méi huā zhàn fàng
Composing the Prelude to Spring! Plum Blossoms Bloom at Ming City Wall Ruins Park
海洋邂逅非遗 上海海昌解锁新春文旅新玩法
hǎi yáng 邂 逅 fēi yí shǎng hǎi hǎi chāng xiè suǒ xīn chūn wén lǚ xīn wán fǎ
Ocean Encounter with Intangible Cultural Heritage: Shanghai Haichang Unlocks New Cultural Tourism Experiences for the Spring Festival
汤姆遗失了他的钥匙。
Tāng mǔ yíshī le tā de yàoshi.
Tom has lost his keys.
语言们的死亡令人遗憾而悲伤。
Yǔyán men de sǐwáng lìngrén yíhàn ér bēishāng.
The death of languages leaves people feeling regret and sorrow.
我们的遗传基因真的和黑猩猩几乎一样吗？
Wǒmen de yíchuán jīyīn zhēnde hé hēixīngxīng jīhū yīyàng ma?
Is it true that our genetic heritage is almost the same as that of chimpanzees?
哦！我很遗憾听到这个消息。
ó! wǒ hěn yíhàn tīngdào zhège xiāoxi.
Oh! I'm sorry to hear that.
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 遗 (yí) mean in Chinese?
How many strokes does 遗 have?
What is the radical of 遗?
What are the components of 遗?
What are common words containing 遗?
What characters sound the same as 遗 (yí)?
Is 遗 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 遗 with real-time feedback
Trace stroke sequences, hear native pronunciation, and build lasting retention with spaced repetition in the HanziFeed app.