矣 (yǐ) is a Chinese character meaning “Classical Chinese sentence-final particle: marks that”. It is written from 厶 (private component) and 矢 (arrow), one above the other, and takes 7 strokes.
Build the character for “classical final particle: "...and that's that"”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
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Structure
厶 + 矢
Top–bottom structure
Structure from: 现代字形笔画核验（hanzi-writer-data：矣 7 画 = 厶 2 画 + 矢 5 画）；说文解字·矢部：矣，語已詞也。从矢㠯聲
Memory aid
A small 厶 perched on top of an arrow (矢): the arrow has already been shot, and the little mark above it is the shrug that follows. 矣 is the full stop of Classical Chinese — it happened, and that's that.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
7 strokes
In real words
- 悔之晚矣huǐ zhī wǎn yǐtoo late to regret it now矣 = yǐspoken ashuǐ zhī wán yǐ
Go deeper
All readings
classical final particle
Classical Chinese sentence-final particle: marks that something has already happened or that a situation has changed — close to modern 了.
文言虚词，用在句末，表示动作已经完成或情况已经变化，相当于现代汉语的「了」。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 悔之晚矣huǐ zhī wǎn yǐtoo late to regret it now矣 = yǐspoken ashuǐ zhī wán yǐ
Origin
The Shuowen Jiezi analyses 矣 as "from 矢 (arrow), with 㠯 (the old form of 以) giving the sound", and glosses it as 語已詞 — the word that ends a sentence. In the modern printed form that upper 㠯 has been flattened into 厶, so the top no longer shows the sound element it came from.
Source: 说文解字·矢部：矣，語已詞也。从矢㠯聲
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 矣 mean?
矣 (yǐ) means Classical Chinese sentence-final particle: marks that something has already happened or that a situation has changed — close to modern 了..
How do you pronounce 矣?
It is pronounced yǐ.
What parts is 矣 made of?
厶 (private component) and 矢 (arrow), one above the other. The recorded source is: 现代字形笔画核验（hanzi-writer-data：矣 7 画 = 厶 2 画 + 矢 5 画）；说文解字·矢部：矣，語已詞也。从矢㠯聲. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 矣 have?
7. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 矣?
矢. 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 矣?
Common ones are 悔之晚矣. The reading of 矣 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.