How to Write 矣 (yǐ) — Meaning “(particle used at the end of a sentence to indicate completion or change)”

Picture an arrow (矢) hitting a bullseye, and someone's mouth (口) shouting "It's done!" That exclamation is the particle 矣, indicating something is finished or has changed. The image of arrow plus mouth helps you recall its function as a completion marker.

Write the top component 矢 first with its normal stroke order (left-falling, horizontal, horizontal, left-falling, right-falling), then add the bottom 口 (three strokes). A common mistake is making the arrow too wide — keep its width similar to the mouth so the character looks balanced and compact.

矢 means "arrow" and is a standalone character, while 矣 adds 口 below, turning it into a sentence-final particle. 知 also has 矢 and 口 but arranges them side by side (矢 on left, 口 on right) and means "to know." So 矣 is a vertical stack, while 矢 and 知 have different structures and meanings.

矣 is a classical Chinese particle that appears in fixed expressions like 悔之晚矣 (it is too late for regrets) and 鲜矣 (seldom seen). It is not used in everyday speech but adds a formal, literary tone in idioms, historical texts, or proverbs, often indicating a completed action or an exclamatory statement.

Common words containing 矣 include: 悔之晚矣 (huǐ zhī wǎn yǐ) — it is too late for regrets; 矣哉 (yǐ zāi) — (exclamatory particle combination); 鲜矣 (xiān yǐ) — Rarely seen / Seldom.