以yǐ

以

Hover to feel · click to explore

Simplified · Today

简体

Simplified Chinese

Simplified Chinese (簡體). 以 (yǐ, "to use; according to; with") appears the same in simplified and traditional forms — a character whose ancient pictograph showed a person (人) leaning on a stool (几), originally meaning "to rely on" before extending to "to use" and "according to." It functions as a preposition in modern Mandarin, as in 以前 (yǐqián, "before") and 以為 (yǐwéi, "to think/believe"), connecting actions and reasons with elegant simplicity.

← → navigate · swipe on mobile

Shuowen

以. A figure leaning upon or using another form for support; the original meaning is "to rely upon" or "to use," from which all its modern functions as a preposition derive, representing the act of taking something as a foundation or means.

Pinyin

yǐ· HSK 1

以yǐ

Character evolution

Shuowen

Pinyin