咿 (yī) — (onomatopoeia) used to represent creaking, babbling, or squeaking sounds, often in the form 咿呀 or 咿咿呀呀
Definition
An onomatopoeia for small, repeated sounds like creaking doors or a baby babbling. It is a bound form — it almost always appears paired with 呀 (咿呀, 咿咿呀呀), not on its own.
onomatopoeia
used to represent creaking, babbling, or squeaking sounds, often in the form 咿呀 or 咿咿呀呀
Easily confused
Examples
- ，。Mén yī yā dì xiǎng le yī shēng, rán hòu kāi le.The door creaked and then opened.
- 。Chuāng wài chuán lái hái zi yī yā de xué yǔ shēng.From outside the window came the babbling sound of a child learning to speak.
- ，。Hái zi hái xiǎo, zhī huì yī yā dì xué shuō huà.The child is still young and can only babble.
Origin
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