倚 (yǐ) is a Chinese character meaning “to lean on”. It is written from 亻 (person (the form 人 takes on the left)) and 奇 (strange; odd), side by side, and takes 10 strokes.
Build the character for “to lean on”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
亻 + 奇
Left–right structure
Structure from: 说文解字·人部：倚，依也。从人，奇聲。（现代字形拆分已对照 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：2 + 8 = 10）
Memory aid
A person (亻) leaning against something strange (奇) — to lean on it is 倚.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
10 strokes
In real words
- 倚靠yǐ kàoto lean on; to rely on倚 = yǐ
- 不偏不倚bù piān bù yǐimpartial; leaning to neither side倚 = yǐ
Go deeper
All readings
to lean on
to lean on; to rely on; to lean to one side, biased
靠着；依靠，仗恃；偏向一边。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 倚靠yǐ kàoto lean on; to rely on倚 = yǐ
- 不偏不倚bù piān bù yǐimpartial; leaning to neither side倚 = yǐ
Sound component
奇 family
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 倚 mean?
倚 (yǐ) means to lean on; to rely on; to lean to one side, biased.
How do you pronounce 倚?
It is pronounced yǐ.
What parts is 倚 made of?
亻 (person (the form 人 takes on the left)) and 奇 (strange; odd), side by side. The recorded source is: 说文解字·人部：倚，依也。从人，奇聲。（现代字形拆分已对照 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：2 + 8 = 10）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 倚 have?
10. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 倚?
人. 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 倚?
Common ones are 倚靠 and 不偏不倚. The reading of 倚 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.