伍一 (wǔ yī) — (slang) a mole, an undercover agent embedded in a group

Definition

Slang (literally 'five-one') for a mole or undercover agent planted inside a group. Not a literal numeral — the digits evoke the look of a person disguised within a crowd.

numeral
(slang) a mole, an undercover agent embedded in a group
Easily confused

Examples

  • ，伍一。
    Xiǎo xīn, wǒ men zhōng jiān kě néng yǒu yí gè wǔ yī.
    Be careful, there might be a mole among us.
  • 伍一。
    Diàn yǐng lǐ de wǔ yī zuì hòu bèi fā xiàn le.
    The mole in the movie was discovered in the end.
  • 伍一。
    Jǐng fāng pài le yí gè wǔ yī jìn rù fàn zuì tuán huǒ.
    The police sent a mole into the criminal gang.

Origin

Characters in this word

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

Meaning part形符xíngfú
亻Written in full as人rén
Sound part声符shēngfú
五
五wǔ伍wǔ
Same sound today

伍 is written with 亻, a person, and 五, which gives the sound.

Open 伍 →

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

一 is drawn as one horizontal stroke, marking the number one.

Open 一 →

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