椅 (yǐ) is a Chinese character meaning “chair”. It is written from 木 (tree; wood) and 奇 (strange; odd), side by side, and takes 12 strokes.
Build the character for “chair”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
木 + 奇
Left–right structure
Structure from: IDS ⿰木奇 (cjkvi-ids, makemeahanzi decomposition); 说文解字: 椅，梓也。从木奇声
Memory aid
Wood (木) shaped into something special (奇) that you sit on — a chair.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
12 strokes
In real words
- 椅子yǐ zǐchair椅 = yǐspoken asyǐ zi
- 桌椅zhuō yǐtables and chairs椅 = yǐ
Go deeper
All readings
chair
chair; seat with a back
有靠背的坐具。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 椅子yǐ zǐchair椅 = yǐspoken asyǐ zi
- 桌椅zhuō yǐtables and chairs椅 = yǐ
Sound component
奇 family
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 椅 mean?
椅 (yǐ) means chair; seat with a back.
How do you pronounce 椅?
It is pronounced yǐ.
What parts is 椅 made of?
木 (tree; wood) and 奇 (strange; odd), side by side. The recorded source is: IDS ⿰木奇 (cjkvi-ids, makemeahanzi decomposition); 说文解字: 椅，梓也。从木奇声. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 椅 have?
12. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 椅?
木. 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 椅?
Common ones are 椅子 and 桌椅. The reading of 椅 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.