() — (bound form) appearance; bearing; (bound form) ceremony; etiquette; rite; (bound form) apparatus; instrument; device

Definition

仪 (yí) is a bound form: it only appears inside compounds like 仪表 (bearing), 仪式 (ceremony), and 仪器 (instrument). It never stands alone as a word in modern Chinese.

bound form
appearancebearingceremonyetiquetteriteapparatusinstrumentdevice

Examples

  • Hūn lǐ de yí shì hěn lóng zhòng.
    The wedding ceremony was very grand.
  • Zhè tái yí qì fēi cháng jīng què.
    This instrument is very precise.
  • Tā de yí biǎo dà fāng dé tǐ.
    His appearance is natural and appropriate.

Origin

Sound + meaning
六书liùshū
形声xíngshēng

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 儀; 仪 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
Written in full asrén
Sound part声符shēngfú
Same sound today

In the traditional form 儀, the left part 亻 shows a person, and the right part 義 supplies the sound. This description is about 儀, not the simplified 仪.

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