Learn Chinese Characters

Meaning

justice; righteousness; meaning

Chinese: 意义、正义。

Hear the Four Tones

The same syllable “yi” becomes a different word in each tone. 义 is the 4th 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

  • 意义yì yìsense; meaning; significance; importance
  • 义务yì wùduty; obligation (; volunteer (work etc)
  • 含义hán yìmeaning (implicit in a phrase); implied meaning; hidden meaning; hint
  • 正义zhèng yìjustice; righteousness; just; righteous
  • 名义míng yìname; titular; nominal; in name

Example Sentence

帮助别人是我们的义务。Bāng zhù bié ren shì wǒ men de yì wù.Helping others is our duty.

帮助Bāng zhùassistance别人bié renother peopleshìis我们wǒ menwedeof义务yì wùduty

Go deeper

Where this character comes from

Simplified from 義 (羊 over 我). It means ‘righteousness, justice; meaning, sense; relationship/loyalty; adopted (relationship); artificial’ (意义, 正义, 义务).

A way to remember it

‘Meaning; righteousness’: 意义 (meaning), 正义 (justice).