姨 (yí) is a Chinese character meaning “mother’s sister”. It is written from 女 (woman; female) and 夷 (level, smooth; historically a name for peoples to the east), side by side, and takes 9 strokes.
Build the character for “maternal aunt”
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Structure
女 + 夷
Left–right structure
- 女 woman; female · nǚ meaning
- 夷 level, smooth; historically a name for peoples to the east · yí sound
Structure from: 说文解字: 姨，妻之女弟同出爲姨。从女，夷聲
Memory aid
A woman (女) next to 夷 (yí), which lends its sound: she is your 姨 yí — your mother’s sister, the auntie you call 阿姨.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
9 strokes
In real words
- 阿姨ā yíauntie; a friendly term for a woman of one's mother's generation姨 = yí
- 姨妈yí mā(maternal) aunt; mother’s sister姨 = yí
Go deeper
All readings
maternal aunt
mother’s sister; aunt; also a polite term for a woman of one’s mother’s generation
母亲的姐妹；也用于称呼与母亲同辈的女性。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 阿姨ā yíauntie; a friendly term for a woman of one's mother's generation姨 = yí
- 姨妈yí mā(maternal) aunt; mother’s sister姨 = yí
Sound component
夷 family exact
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 姨 mean?
姨 (yí) means mother’s sister; aunt; also a polite term for a woman of one’s mother’s generation.
How do you pronounce 姨?
It is pronounced yí.
What parts is 姨 made of?
女 (woman; female) and 夷 (level, smooth; historically a name for peoples to the east), side by side. The recorded source is: 说文解字: 姨，妻之女弟同出爲姨。从女，夷聲. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 姨 have?
9. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 姨?
女. 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 姨?
Common ones are 阿姨 and 姨妈. The reading of 姨 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.