Meaning
to use; according to; so as to; in order to; by; with
Chinese: 表示凭借、用、因为或目的。
Hear the Four Tones
The same syllable “yi” becomes a different word in each tone. 以 is the 3rd tone. Tap any tone to hear a native voice and see its pitch shape.
Stroke Order
Tap Animate to watch the strokes in order, or Practice to trace it yourself.
Common Words
- 可以kě yǐcan; may; possible; able to
- 所以suǒ yǐtherefore; as a result; so; the reason why
- 以后yǐ hòuafter; later; afterwards; following
- 以前yǐ qiánbefore; formerly; previous; ago
- 以为yǐ wéito think; to believe (often with the implication that the belief is mistaken – unless referring to one's own current belief)
Example Sentence
我们可以用中文交流。Wǒ men kě yǐ yòng Zhōng wén jiāo liú.We can communicate in Chinese.
我们Wǒ menwe可以kě yǐcan用yòngto use中文Zhōng wénChinese language交流jiāo liúto exchange。
Go deeper
Where this character comes from
Early forms show a person carrying a tool or load: to use something to get something done — ‘to use; by means of; with; in order to’.
A way to remember it
Take something in hand to use it — by means of.