仪 (yí) is a Chinese character meaning “ceremony”. It is written from 亻 (person (the form 人 takes on the left)) and 义 (justice; meaning), side by side, and takes 5 strokes.
Build the character for “ceremony; instrument”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
亻 + 义
Left–right structure
Structure from: studyhanzi 现代字形拆分（笔画核验：亻2 + 义3 = 仪5，与 hanzi-writer-data 一致）
Memory aid
A person (亻) carrying out 义 — the proper, right thing. Both parts are really in this character: the person on the left, 义 on the right, which is also what tells you it sounds like yí.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
5 strokes
In real words
- 仪式yí shìceremony; rite仪 = yí
- 仪器yí qìinstrument; apparatus仪 = yí
Go deeper
All readings
ceremony; instrument
ceremony; rite; bearing, appearance; instrument, apparatus
典礼、仪式；人的外表和举止；也指测量或观测用的器具。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 仪式yí shìceremony; rite仪 = yí
- 仪器yí qìinstrument; apparatus仪 = yí
Sound component
义 family tone diff
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 仪 mean?
仪 (yí) means ceremony; rite; bearing, appearance; instrument, apparatus.
How do you pronounce 仪?
It is pronounced yí.
What parts is 仪 made of?
亻 (person (the form 人 takes on the left)) and 义 (justice; meaning), side by side. The recorded source is: studyhanzi 现代字形拆分（笔画核验：亻2 + 义3 = 仪5，与 hanzi-writer-data 一致）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 仪 have?
5. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 仪?
亻. The radical is how the character is filed in a dictionary — it is not the whole story of how the character is built.
What words use 仪?
Common ones are 仪式 and 仪器. The reading of 仪 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.