Definition
义 (yì) is a bound form (粘着语素) that only appears as part of compound words, never alone. It carries several distinct meaning clusters: (1) justice, righteousness, or moral duty — central to Chinese culture in words like 义气 'brotherhood/spirit of loyalty' and 义务 'obligation'; (2) meaning or significance — in 含义 'implication', 定义 'definition'; (3) artificial/adopted/volunteer — in 义肢 'prosthetic limb', 义子 'adopted son', 义工 'volunteer'. The 'chivalry' sense in the English gloss is closest to 义气的 cultural ideal, not medieval European knighthood.
b.f.
justicerighteousnessmoral duty (in 义务, 义气)meaningsignificance (in 含义, 定义)(bound form) adoptedartificialvolunteer (in 义子, 义肢, 义工)
Examples
- ，。Tā tèbié jiǎng yì qì, péngyou yǒu nàn yí dìng bāngmáng.He really values loyalty; if a friend is in trouble he will definitely help.
- 。Zhè liǎng ge cí de hán yì wánquán yíyàng.These two words have exactly the same meaning.
- ，。Tā tuìxiū hòu yì zhí zuò yì gōng, bāngzhù shèqū lǐ de lǎorén.After retiring, he has been doing volunteer work to help the elderly in the community.
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