() - to unravel & to draw out

Tone 4

yì | 8 strokes | radical: 纟

·

to unravel;

to draw out;

to follow up;

to continue;

to explain;

to expound;

to trace back;

to seek the origin

to unravelto draw outto follow up

Usage highlights

to expoundcontinuous streamto trace backto unravelto explainto follow up

Synonyms

Antonyms

  • 混淆to confuse; to mix up
  • 中断to interrupt; to discontinue

Usage & contexts

Examples

  • The scholar is expounding the classics (绎经).
  • We need to trace the source of this problem (寻绎).
  • She is unraveling the thread of thought (抽绎).
  • The lecture continued without interruption (络绎不绝).

Collocations

  • to expound(演绎)
  • continuous stream(络绎)
  • to trace back(寻绎)
  • to unravel(抽绎)
  • to explain(绎解)
  • to follow up(绎理)

Idioms

  • In an endless stream(络绎不绝)
  • Deductive reasoning(演绎推理)
  • To trace back to the source(寻绎根源)

Cultural background

FAQ
  • Originally meant to draw out silk threads, later extended to mean unraveling complex ideas or tracing origins.
  • Used in classical Chinese scholarship for systematic explanation and logical deduction of texts.
  • Appears in philosophical and literary contexts as a method of textual analysis and interpretation.

FAQ