How to Write 祎 (yī) — Meaning “beautiful; fine (often used in names)”

Think of the left side 礻 as a 'spirit' and the right side 韦 as a stylized 'person'. Imagine a spirit who is 'beautiful and fine' — that is 祎 (yī). Another trick: the right side 韦 looks like a tall, graceful person standing, which matches the idea of elegance.

Write the left radical 礻 first: dot, horizontal stroke with a hook, vertical stroke, dot. Then write the right side 韦: horizontal, horizontal, vertical, horizontal fold hook, vertical. Make sure the right side is wider than the left, and the final vertical stroke ends slightly lower. Common mistakes include making the right side too narrow or forgetting the hook on the last horizontal fold.

祎 (yī) has the right side 韦, while 社 (shè) has 土 (earth) and means 'society' or 'altar', and 祀 (sì) has 巳 (a snake-shaped component) and means 'sacrifice'. Visually, 祎's right side has two horizontal strokes at the top, then a vertical and a hook, whereas 社 has a simple 土 and 祀 has a closed 巳. Their meanings are completely unrelated — 祎 is only used for beauty and names.

祎 is a rare character not included in the HSK vocabulary list. It appears almost exclusively in Chinese personal names, often for girls, to express qualities like beauty, elegance, and grace. You may also encounter it in classical poetry or historical texts, but today its main use is as a name character with positive connotations.

Common words containing 祎 include: 祎隋 (yī suí) — beautiful and graceful; 祎博 (yī bó) — beautiful and extensive; 姓祎 (xìng yī) — Surname Yi.