咦

yí

口 + 夷

Definitions

yí (particle) expression of surprise

Etymology

Phonosemantic compound. 口 represents the meaning and 夷 represents the sound.

Semantic: 口 Phonetic: 夷

About

The character 咦 is a phono-semantic compound. Its left-side semantic radical 口 (mouth) indicates a connection to vocalization or sound, while the right-side component 夷 serves as the phonetic indicator for pronunciation. Unlike characters for concrete nouns or actions, 咦 functions as an interjection, primarily expressing sudden surprise or mild astonishment in response to an unexpected situation. Its meaning conveys the speaker's emotional tone rather than a specific action or object.

Etymology Hide

Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)

Traditional Modern

Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

咦，你怎么了？

Yí, nǐ zěnme le?

Huh, what's wrong with you?

咦，这是什么东西？

Yí, zhè shì shénme dōngxi?

Huh, what is this thing?

咦，我的笔在哪里？

Yí, wǒ de bǐ zài nǎlǐ?

Huh, where is my pen?

咦，今天为什么这么热？

Yí, jīntiān wèishénme zhème rè?

Huh, why is it so hot today?

咦，他居然忘记带钥匙。

Yí, tā jūrán wàngjì dài yàoshi.

Huh, he actually forgot to bring the key.

咦，这本书的情节很吸引人。

Yí, zhè běn shū de qíngjié hěn xīyǐn rén.

Huh, the plot of this book is very engaging.

咦，天空突然下起了大雨。

Yí, tiānkōng tūrán xià qǐle dàyǔ.

Huh, it suddenly started raining heavily.

咦，为什么这个解决方案不被采纳？

Yí, wèishénme zhège jiějué fāng'àn bù bèi cǎinà?

Huh, why isn't this solution being adopted?

Related Characters

Component: 口

Component: 夷