译 (yì) is a Chinese character meaning “to translate”. It is written from 讠 (speech radical) and 圣 (sage; holy), side by side, and takes 7 strokes.
Build the character for “to translate”
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Structure
讠 + 圣
Left–right structure
Structure from: Unicode U+8BD1 现代字形与 hanzi-writer-data 笔顺核验（7 画 = 讠 2 画 + 圣 5 画）；繁体 譯 见 说文解字·言部「譯，傳譯四夷之言者。从言睪聲」，简化后右旁「睪」改写为记号「圣」
Memory aid
Speech (讠) handed to a sage (圣): the sage hears one language and gives it back in another — that is translating.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
7 strokes
In real words
- 翻译fān yìto translate; translation; translator译 = yìHSK 4
- 译文yì wéntranslated text; a translation译 = yì
Go deeper
All readings
to translate
to translate; to interpret; to render into another language
把一种语言的意思用另一种语言表达出来。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 翻译fān yìto translate; translation; translator译 = yìHSK 4
- 译文yì wéntranslated text; a translation译 = yì
Origin
The traditional form 譯 is analysed in the Shuowen Jiezi as "from 言 (speech), with 睪 giving the sound" — passing speech on from one language into another. In the simplified 译, 言 is written as the radical 讠, but the old sound part 睪 was replaced by the shorthand shape 圣, which here neither gives the sound nor the meaning.
Source: 说文解字·言部：譯，傳譯四夷之言者。从言睪聲
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 译 mean?
译 (yì) means to translate; to interpret; to render into another language.
How do you pronounce 译?
It is pronounced yì.
What parts is 译 made of?
讠 (speech radical) and 圣 (sage; holy), side by side. The recorded source is: Unicode U+8BD1 现代字形与 hanzi-writer-data 笔顺核验（7 画 = 讠 2 画 + 圣 5 画）；繁体 譯 见 说文解字·言部「譯，傳譯四夷之言者。从言睪聲」，简化后右旁「睪」改写为记号「圣」. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 译 have?
7. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 译?
讠. 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 译?
Common ones are 翻译 and 译文. The reading of 译 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.