易 (yì) is a bound morpheme (b.f.) that cannot stand alone in modern Chinese; it combines with other morphemes to form words. Its core senses include 'easy' (in 容易, 简易, 易碎), 'to exchange / to change' (in 交易, 贸易, 易手), and 'amiable, gentle' (in 平易近人). It also serves as a surname and, in classical written Chinese, can mean 'to despise'. The usage depends heavily on the compound — the bare English glosses are misleading without context.