姨

yí

夷 + 女

HSK 3.0Level 6

Definitions

yí (noun) maternal aunt; wife's sister

Etymology

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

Semantic: 女 Phonetic: 夷

About

姨 is a phono-semantic compound meaning maternal aunt or a woman of one's parents' generation. The female radical 女 on the left marks it as a female kinship term, while the component 夷 (yí) on the right is purely phonetic. Although it strictly refers to one's mother's sisters, the character has also become a polite form of address for women roughly the age of one's mother, including unrelated older female acquaintances and domestic workers in modern usage.

Etymology Hide

Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)

Traditional Modern

Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

阿姨对我很好。

Āyí duì wǒ hěn hǎo.

The aunt is very nice to me.

我姨妈住在北京。

Wǒ yímā zhù zài Běijīng.

My maternal aunt lives in Beijing.

姨夫今天来我家。

Yífu jīntiān lái wǒ jiā.

My uncle (aunt's husband) is coming to my home today.

小姨送给我一本书。

Xiǎo yí sòng gěi wǒ yì běn shū.

My youngest aunt gave me a book.

阿姨在厨房里做饭。

Āyí zài chúfáng lǐ zuò fàn.

The aunt is cooking in the kitchen.

我姨母是一位医生。

Wǒ yímǔ shì yí wèi yīshēng.

My maternal aunt is a doctor.

阿姨经常帮助邻居们。

Āyí jīngcháng bāngzhù línjūmen.

The aunt often helps the neighbors.

姨妈和姨夫一起去旅行了。

Yímā hé yífu yìqǐ qù lǚxíng le.

My maternal aunt and uncle went traveling together.

Related Characters

Component: 夷

Component: 女

姨