贻 (yí) is a Chinese character meaning “to present as a gift”. It is written from 贝 (shell) and 台 (platform; terrace (in 冶 and 苔 it carries the sound)), side by side, and takes 9 strokes.
Build the character for “to leave behind”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
贝 + 台
Left–right structure
Structure from: 说文解字（貽，贈遺也。从貝台聲）
Memory aid
A cowrie shell (贝) — old money — is carried up to the platform (台) and handed over to someone else. 贻 is to hand something on: a gift, or the trouble you leave behind.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
9 strokes
In real words
- 贻误yí wùto delay and thereby spoil; to bungle through negligence贻 = yí
- 贻害yí hàito leave behind harm; to cause lasting damage贻 = yí
Go deeper
All readings
to bequeath; to leave behind
to present as a gift; to hand down or leave behind (often something unwanted, such as trouble or delay)
赠送；遗留下来，多指留下不好的结果。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 贻误yí wùto delay and thereby spoil; to bungle through negligence贻 = yí
- 贻害yí hàito leave behind harm; to cause lasting damage贻 = yí
Sound component
台 family diverged
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 贻 mean?
贻 (yí) means to present as a gift; to hand down or leave behind (often something unwanted, such as trouble or delay).
How do you pronounce 贻?
It is pronounced yí.
What parts is 贻 made of?
贝 (shell) and 台 (platform; terrace (in 冶 and 苔 it carries the sound)), side by side. The recorded source is: 说文解字（貽，贈遺也。从貝台聲）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 贻 have?
9. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 贻?
贝. 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 贻?
Common ones are 贻误 and 贻害. The reading of 贻 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.