How to Write 夷 (yí) — Meaning “to level / smooth / ancient foreign tribes”

Imagine a big (大) bow (弓) that can level (夷) an entire battlefield. The visual of a large bow helps link the shape to the sound 'yí' and the meaning of smoothing or razing. Or think of 'Yi the Archer' using a big bow to turn danger into safety (化险为夷).

Write the top part 大 first: horizontal stroke, then left-falling stroke, then right-falling stroke. Then write the bottom 弓: horizontal-bend, horizontal, then vertical-bend-hook. A common mistake is writing the 弓 with four strokes instead of three—the final stroke is one continuous vertical-bend-hook. Keep the 大 wide and the 弓 narrower below.

夷 has a large person (大) on top and a bow (弓) below, while 天 (tiān) is just one horizontal line above 大, meaning sky or heaven. 买 (mǎi) has a hook (乛) on top of 大, meaning to buy. Remember: 夷 = big + bow, 天 = one + big, 买 = hook + big.

夷 appears in the idiom 化险为夷 (turn danger into safety) and the verb 夷平 (to raze to the ground). It also appears in 辛夷 (magnolia flower bud), a traditional medicine term. Historically, 夷 referred to non-Han peoples in eastern China, but today it is mostly used in formal or literary contexts, not daily conversation.

Common words containing 夷 include: 化险为夷 (huà xiǎn wéi yí) — Turn danger into safety / Save the day; 夷平 (yí píng) — to raze / to level to the ground; 辛夷 (xīn yí) — Magnolia flower bud..