How to Write 沂 (yí) — Meaning “Yi (name of a river)”

Imagine a river (氵) flowing past a hill that looks like an upside-down axe (斤). You can say: 'By the Yi River, I see an axe-shaped hill.' The sound 'yi' matches the character's pinyin, so you remember both the shape and pronunciation.

Pay attention to the stroke order of the left radical 氵: write the three dots from top to bottom in a diagonal line. The right part 斤 has 4 strokes — first a leftward slash, then two horizontal lines, and finally a vertical hook. A common mistake is making the right part too wide; keep the left narrow and the right slightly wider.

沂 uses the component 斤 (axe) on the right, while 㳄 uses 欠 (yawn) on the right and is a rare character meaning saliva. 氿 has 九 (nine) on the right and means a spring of water. Visually, 沂 has a straight vertical line in 斤, whereas 㳄 has a curved lower part and 氿 has a simple 九.

沂 is mainly used in place names, such as 沂河 (Yí Hé, Yi River) in Shandong Province and 沂蒙 (Yí Méng, Yimeng region). It appears in historical and cultural contexts, like the Yimeng Revolutionary Base Area. Since it is not in the HSK vocabulary, learners usually encounter it when studying Chinese geography or history.

Common words containing 沂 include: 沂河 (yí hé) — Yi River; 沂蒙 (yí méng) — Yimeng (a region in Shandong); 沂水 (yí shuǐ) — Yi River.