翼 (yì) — wing (of a bird, aircraft, etc.); flank (of a military formation, sports team, etc.); (literary) to shelter; to protect; to assist
Definition
Bound-form literary word almost always seen inside compounds like 机翼 (aircraft wing) or 辅翼 (to assist a ruler). Concrete "wing/flank" senses are its core use; "to shelter/assist" is rare and literary.
bound form
wing (of a bird, aircraft, etc.)flank (of a military formation, sports team, etc.)(literary) to shelterto protectto assist
Examples
- 。Fēi jī de jī yì shè jì dé fēi cháng jīng qiǎo.The aircraft's wing design is very sophisticated.
- 。Wǒ jūn cóng zuǒ yòu liǎng yì bāo chāo dí rén.Our army outflanked the enemy from both left and right flanks.
- 翼。Tā jìn xīn fǔ yì jūn zhǔ zhì lǐ guó jiā.He wholeheartedly assisted the monarch in governing the country.
Origin
Sound + meaning六书liùshū
形声xíngshēngMost characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.
Sound part声符shēngfú
異
異yì翼yì
Same sound today
翼 combines 羽 (feathers/wings) with 異, which supplies the sound.
Appears in
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