亿

億

yì

乙 + 亻

HSK 2.0Level 4

HSK 3.0Level 5

Frequency#1057

Definitions

yì (numeral) 100 million

Etymology

Phonosemantic compound. 亻 represents the meaning and 乙 represents the sound. Simplified form of 億. Based on the original meaning "quiet; at rest". The current meaning is a phonetic loan.

Semantic: 亻 Phonetic: 乙

About

The character "亿", the simplified form of "億", derives from a classical Chinese numeral denoting a large quantity, with the traditional character "億" combining the "人" radical related to human measure and the phonetic component "意" that indicated its sound. Historically, "億" represented one hundred thousand, but its meaning shifted to one hundred million in modern Chinese. The simplified form "亿" retains the person radical as "亻" but replaces the phonetic with "乙", chosen for its simpler form and approximate phonetic value, resulting in a structurally streamlined character that continues to function as a numeral.

Etymology Hide

Bronze Early Warring States (~400 BC)

Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)

Seal Xin dynasty (9-23 AD)

Clerical Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)

Traditional Modern

Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

中国人口超过十四亿。

Zhōngguó rénkǒu chāoguò shísì yì.

China's population exceeds 1.4 billion.

这个项目投资十亿元。

Zhège xiàngmù tóuzī shí yì yuán.

This project invests 1 billion yuan.

亿万人民庆祝国庆。

Yìwàn rénmín qìngzhù guóqìng.

Hundreds of millions of people celebrate National Day.

全球有七十亿人居住。

Quánqiú yǒu qīshí yì rén jūzhù.

There are 7 billion people living globally.

公司今年营收达到百亿。

Gōngsī jīnnián yíngshōu dádào bǎi yì.

The company's revenue this year reached ten billion.

这部电影票房收入过亿。

Zhè bù diànyǐng piàofáng shōurù guò yì.

This movie's box office revenue exceeded 100 million.

科学家发现了亿万年前的化石。

Kēxuéjiā fāxiàn le yìwàn nián qián de huàshí.

Scientists discovered fossils from hundreds of millions of years ago.

为了实现这个目标，我们需要投入数十亿资金。

Wèile shíxiàn zhège mùbiāo, wǒmen xūyào tóurù shù shí yì zījīn.

To achieve this goal, we need to invest tens of billions of funds.

Related Characters

Component: 乙

Component: 亻

亿