一
yī/i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹/
The Chinese word 一 (yī) refers to the ethnic group Yi.
一 is used to refer to the Yi people, an ethnic group. It is distinct from other words such as the surname 李 or the name of the Yi language 彝語.
Meaning: ethnic group (noun)
Which one should you use?
The character 壹 is a formal way to say 'Yi' used in financial or legal contexts.
Related words
How do you pronounce it?
The romanization is yī. The IPA is /i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹/.
Did you know?
- In financial or legal documents, the character 壹 is used instead of the standard 一 to prevent fraud through alteration.
- While 一 is the standard character for the number 'one', certain Min dialects in Fujian use entirely different sounds and even different characters like 個 or 寡 to represent it.
- The sound of 一 in most Chinese dialects is derived from the ancient Proto-Sino-Tibetan root *ʔit.
Examples in context
- 一本书One book
- 一杯咖啡A cup of coffee
- 依我看According to me / In my opinion
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry 一, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries 一, CC BY-SA 4.0.
