易 yì easy
easy; to exchange; to trade
How to remember 易: 日 sun + 勿 don’t = easy. Lying in the sun by the pool, the swimming coach tells the nervous kid "Don't panic, floating is easy."
Component breakdown
易 = 日 sun + 勿 don’t
- 日 sun
- 勿 don’t
Lying in the sun by the pool, the swimming coach tells the nervous kid "Don't panic, floating is easy."
How it came to be
One pot tipped over another with the liquid running between them: pouring from this into that. Exchange is the old meaning, and doing something without effort came from it.
How it is used
- Two threads: easy (容易 róngyì) and to exchange/trade (交易 jiāoyì, 贸易 màoyì).
- 容易 is the everyday 'easy/likely to': 容易感冒 (róngyì gǎnmào) prone to catching colds.
- 轻易 (qīngyì) means 'lightly/rashly,' usually negated: 别轻易放弃 (bié qīngyì fàngqì) don't give up easily.
- 来之不易 (láizhī-búyì) = hard-won, not easily obtained - note the 'trade/exchange' root behind 交易/贸易.
Characters built with 易
Words with 易
- 容易róngyìeasyHSK 3
- 交易jiāoyìto dealHSK 5
- 轻易qīngyìeasyHSK 5
- 好容易hǎoróngyìwith great difficultyHSK 6
- 易于yìyúvery likelyHSK 6
- 贸易màoyìtradeHSK 6
- 来之不易láizhī-búyìhard to come byHSK 7
- 简易jiǎnyìsimple and easyHSK 7
- 轻而易举qīng’éryìjǔeasyHSK 7
- 易拉罐yìlāguànpull-top canHSK 8
- 显而易见xiǎn’éryìjiànclearly and easy to see (idiom)HSK 9
Example sentences
- 冬天容易感冒。 Dōngtiān róngyì gǎnmào.It's easy to catch a cold in winter.