翼 yì — wing
小鸟扇动着翅膀，展开双翼飞向天空。Xiǎo niǎo shān dòng zhe chì bǎng, zhǎn kāi shuāng yì fēi xiàng tiān kōng.The bird flapped its wings and spread them to fly into the sky.
Common words: 小心翼翼 (xiǎo xīn yì yì)、不翼而飞 (bù yì ér fēi)、机翼 (jī yì)
Meaning Index
Chinese characters meaning "wing"
Learn Chinese characters with the meaning "wing", including 翼 (yì), 膀 (bǎng / bàng / pāng / páng), 翅 (chì). Study pinyin, English meanings…
How to Study This Meaning Group
The English word "wing" covers 3 different Chinese characters — 翼 (yì), 膀 (bǎng / bàng / pāng / páng), 翅 (chì) — and each is its own word with its own feel. These 3 characters do not share a sound — their readings span yì, bǎng, bàng, pāng, páng, chì — so confirm the pinyin and tone for each one separately. The example sentences further down show how 翼 and the others are actually used, so you learn them in context rather than as a single translation.
- 翼 yìwingUseful words: 小心翼翼, 不翼而飞
- 膀 bǎng / bàng / pāng / pángupper arm; wing; to flirt; puffed (swollen); bladderUseful words: 肩膀, 翅膀
- 翅 chìwingUseful words: 翅膀, 翅子
Common words for these 3 "wing" characters
Anchor each of these 3 characters in a word you can picture — start with 翼 (yì) — so "wing" turns into concrete usage instead of a one-to-one translation.
小心翼翼xiǎo xīn yì yì(idiom) cautious; careful; prudent不翼而飞bù yì ér fēito disappear without trace; to vanish all of a sudden; to spread fast; to spread like wildfire机翼jī yìwing (of an aircraft)肩膀jiān bǎngshoulder翅膀chì bǎngwing膀子bǎng ziupper arm; arm; wing翅膀chì bǎngwing翅子chì zishark's fin; wing后翅hòu chìback wing (of insect)
See each character in a sentence
Each character below is shown in a short example sentence with pinyin and an English translation — the quickest way to feel the difference between the 3 ways to say "wing".
膀 bǎng / bàng / pāng / páng — upper arm; wing; to flirt; puffed (swollen); bladder
鸟儿张开翅膀，飞向远方。Niǎo ér zhāng kāi chì bǎng, fēi xiàng yuǎn fāng.The bird spreads its wings and flies into the distance.
Common words: 肩膀 (jiān bǎng)、翅膀 (chì bǎng)、膀子 (bǎng zi)
翅 chì — wing
小鸟扇动着翅膀，飞上了天空。Xiǎo niǎo shān dòng zhe chì bǎng, fēi shàng le tiān kōng.The little bird flapped its wings and flew into the sky.
Common words: 翅膀 (chì bǎng)、翅子 (chì zi)、后翅 (hòu chì)
All 3 characters
Open 翼、膀、翅 or any character below to hear it read aloud and see it used in an example sentence.