How to Write 议 (yì) — Meaning “To discuss or deliberate”

Imagine someone saying 'I' (sounds like 义, yì) to start a discussion, so you add the speech radical 讠 before it. The picture is: you open your mouth (讠) to say 'I' (义) and begin a debate.

First write the radical 讠: dot, then a horizontal stroke turning into a left-falling stroke. Then on the right write 义: starting with a downward-left stroke (撇) then a dot, and finally a downward-right stroke (捺). Be careful not to make the right side too wide; the dot in 义 should sit neatly under the first stroke.

议 (yì) means 'to discuss' or 'debate' and is used for group deliberation. 计 (jì) means 'to calculate' or 'plan' and appears in words like 计划 (plan). 订 (dìng) means 'to subscribe' or 'to book' as in 订票 (book a ticket). Visually, 议 has the right part 义, while 计 has 十 (ten) and 订 has 丁.

议 appears in common words like 会议 (meeting) and 建议 (suggestion). It is used in formal or semi-formal contexts where people exchange ideas, such as a business meeting or a committee discussion. A cultural note: in China, 议 often implies a structured process of group decision-making rather than casual chatting.

Common words containing 议 include: 会议 (huì yì) — Meeting; conference.; 建议 (jiàn yì) — Suggestion / To suggest; 议论 (yì lùn) — to discuss; to comment.