How to Write 抑 (yì) — Meaning “Suppress / Restrain”

Imagine a hand (扌) pushing down on a person who is trying to stand up (like 卬 looking like a kneeling figure). This visual of holding someone down helps you remember that 抑 means 'to suppress.'

The left radical 扌 is written with three strokes: horizontal, vertical hook, and a short lift. The right side 卬 has five strokes: start with a left-falling stroke, then a horizontal fold, a vertical, and finish with a horizontal line and a vertical hook — keep the right side narrower than the left.

扑 (pū) means 'to pat' or 'to rush at,' and its right side is 卜 (bǔ) which is simple and box-like. In contrast, 抑 has the more complex right side 卬, and its meaning is about holding back or pressing down, not hitting.

This character appears in common words like 抑郁 (depression) and 压抑 (oppressed feeling). In daily life, 抑制 is used in scientific or medical contexts, such as '抑制病毒' (inhibit a virus), while 压抑 describes emotional or social pressure.

Common words containing 抑 include: 抑郁 (yì yù) — Depressed / Depression; 抑制 (yì zhì) — Inhibit / Suppress; 压抑 (yā yì) — to suppress; inhibited; depressed.