易 (yì) is a Chinese character meaning “easy”. It is written from 日 (sun; day) and 勿 (do not), one above the other, and takes 8 strokes.
Build the character for “easy”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
日 + 勿
Top–bottom structure
Structure from: 现代字形拆分（康熙部首 日，8 画），经 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验；历史来源另有争议，不作字源主张
Memory aid
The sun (日) sits on top of 勿 ("do not"). Sunlight needs no effort at all — it just falls on you, so 易 says: do not strain, this one is easy.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
8 strokes
In real words
- 容易róng yìeasy; likely to易 = yìHSK 3
- 交易jiāo yìtransaction; deal; to trade易 = yìHSK 5
- 贸易mào yìtrade易 = yì
Go deeper
All readings
easy
easy; not difficult; also: to change, to exchange
不费力，不难；也表示更换、交换。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 容易róng yìeasy; likely to易 = yìHSK 3
- 交易jiāo yìtransaction; deal; to trade易 = yìHSK 5
- 贸易mào yìtrade易 = yì
Easy to confuse with
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 易 mean?
易 (yì) means easy; not difficult; also: to change, to exchange.
How do you pronounce 易?
It is pronounced yì.
What parts is 易 made of?
日 (sun; day) and 勿 (do not), one above the other. The recorded source is: 现代字形拆分（康熙部首 日，8 画），经 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验；历史来源另有争议，不作字源主张. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 易 have?
8. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 易?
日. 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 易?
Common ones are 容易 and 交易. The reading of 易 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.