How to Write 舣 (yǐ) — Meaning “to moor a boat”

Imagine a boat (舟) that has arrived at the shore, and you need to "see" (义 sounds like "see") where to tie it up. So, you "moor the boat" after you "see" the dock. This connects the sound yì to the action of anchoring.

The left radical 舟 is written with a horizontal stroke at the top, then a short left-falling stroke, followed by a horizontal and two dots inside. The right part 义 must be written with a dot on top, then a left-falling stroke, and a right-falling stroke—do not confuse it with 叉 (chā). Keep the two parts balanced: the left side is slightly narrower than the right.

舣 (yǐ) means to moor a boat, while 舡 (gāng or chuán) is an ancient word for a boat or a variant of 船. 舢 (shān) refers specifically to a small wooden boat called a sampan. Visually, they all share the 舟 radical, but 舣 has 义 on the right, 舡 has 工 (gōng), and 舢 has 山 (shān).

舣 is a literary or classical Chinese term, rarely used in everyday conversation. You might encounter it in poetry or historical texts describing a boat being tied up at the shore. For example, the word 舣舟 appears in classical poems to evoke a serene scene of a boat moored by the river.

Common words containing 舣 include: 舣舟 (yǐ zhōu) — to moor a boat; 舣泊 (yǐ pō) — to anchor / to berth; 舣岸 (yǐ àn) — to moor at the shore.