一yī

一

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Simplified · Today

简体

Simplified Chinese

Modern simplified form (簡體). 一 (yī, "one") is identical in simplified and traditional — a single horizontal stroke so primordial that oracle bone inscriptions from three thousand years ago already show its familiar form. It serves as the simplest numerical symbol and appears as a component in characters like 三 (three) and 亠 (lid), where its horizontal essence continues to shape the written language.

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Shuowen

一. The oracle bone form is a single horizontal stroke, the simplest mark in the entire script, representing unity, oneness, or a baseline. It is written this way because it is the most fundamental line—the primordial horizontal from which all measurement and counting begins.

Pinyin

yī· HSK 1

一yī

Character evolution

Shuowen

Pinyin