咿 (yī) - Onomatopoeic character representing creaking, squeaking, or whimpering sounds & also used in words describing baby talk or

咿Tone 1

yī ｜ 9 strokes ｜ radical: 口

一懿

咿 · yī

Onomatopoeic character representing creaking, squeaking, or whimpering sounds;

also used in words describing baby talk or childish speech.

Onomatopoeic character representing creaking, squeaking, or whimpering soundsalso used in words describing baby talk or

Usage highlights

creaking soundlearn to speakwhimperingsqueaking noisebaby talkdoor creaks

Synonyms

  • 呀— creaking sound (similar onomatopoeia)
  • 吱— squeaking sound
  • 呜— whimpering sound

Usage & contexts

Examples

  • The door creaked (咿呀作响).
  • The baby babbled (咿呀学语).
  • She whimpered softly (咿唔啜泣).
  • The old cart made squeaking noises (咿轧声).

Collocations

  • creaking sound(咿呀声)
  • learn to speak(咿呀学语)
  • whimpering(咿唔)
  • squeaking noise(咿轧)
  • baby talk(咿呀语)
  • door creaks(门咿呀作响)

Idioms

  • Learning to babble(咿呀学语)
  • Creaking and squeaking(咿咿呀呀)
  • Whimpering and sobbing(咿咿呜呜)

Cultural background

FAQ
  • Primarily used as an onomatopoeia in Chinese literature to depict various sounds.
  • Commonly appears in descriptions of infants learning to speak or objects making noise.
  • Frequently used in classical Chinese poetry for its phonetic qualities.

FAQ