How to Write 欹 (yī) — Meaning “Slanted or tilted”

Imagine a person yawning (欠) and tilting their body in a strange or odd way (奇). The left side 奇 looks like a weird angle, and the right side 欠 resembles a mouth opening while leaning to one side.

Write the left side 奇 first (大 then 可), keeping it slightly compressed, then add the right side 欠. A common mistake is making the left side too wide; the character should be balanced with 欠 narrower and its final stroke (捺) extending to the right.

欹 has 奇 (irregular) on the left, while 欲 has 谷 (valley) and means desire. 欮 is very rare and often confused; visually, 欹’s left part is taller and more angular, whereas 欲 is squarer. In usage, 欹 is classical and not common, while 欲 is modern and frequent.

欹 is a literary character rarely used in everyday speech, found mainly in classical poetry or descriptive writing. For example, 欹枕 (yī zhěn) describes leaning on a pillow, and 欹侧 (yī cè) means slanted. It is not part of HSK and is only helpful for advanced learners studying ancient texts.

Common words containing 欹 include: 欹侧 (yī cè) — Slanted or leaning; 欹斜 (yī xié) — Slanted or crooked; 欹枕 (yī zhěn) — To lean on a pillow.