依稀 (yī xī) — vaguely, dimly (of memories, sights, sounds) | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

依稀 (yīxī) is an adverb meaning 'vaguely, dimly' — used for faint memories, distant sights, or unclear sounds, as in 依稀记得 ('dimly remember').

verb

vaguelydimly (of memories, sights, sounds)

Examples

依稀。
Wǒ yī xī jì de tóng nián de shēng huó.
I vaguely remember my childhood life.
依稀。
Yuǎn chù de shān yī xī kě jiàn.
The distant mountains are dimly visible.
依稀。
Tā yī xī tīng dào yǒu rén zài jiào tā.
He vaguely heard someone calling him.

Origin

Single-morpheme word

构词法gòucífǎ

联绵liánmiánBound pair

Two characters that only ever appear together, spelling one ancient two-syllable word.

The characters 依 and 稀 carry no meaning of their own here; together they describe something vague or dim.

Sound-only characters

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

亻衣依

Meaning part形符xíngfú

亻Written in full as人rénhuman

Sound part声符shēngfú

衣

衣yī依yī

Same sound today

依 is made from 亻, a person, plus 衣, which gives its sound.

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

禾希稀

Meaning part形符xíngfú

禾禾hégrain

Sound part声符shēngfú

希

Same sound today

稀 has 禾 (grain) beside 希, and 希 gives the character its sound.

Appears in

Senses Thinking & Cognition

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