How to Write 轶 (yì) — Meaning “Extraordinary; to exceed; anecdote”

Picture a car (车) that has lost (失) its way and goes beyond the road — that "exceeding" is the meaning of 轶. You can also think of an anecdote (轶事) as a story that was lost (失) and later found.

Write the left radical 车 first with 4 strokes (horizontal, left-falling turn, horizontal, vertical), making it narrow. Then write the right part 失 with 5 strokes (left-falling, horizontal, horizontal, left-falling, right-falling). A common mistake is making the left part too wide or confusing the order of strokes in 失.

All three have the radical 车 on the left. 轶 has 失 (to lose) on the right, while 斩 has 斤 (axe) and means "to behead." 軎 (wèi) has a different right component and refers to the end of an axle, which is rare. Focus on the right side to tell them apart.

轶 is used in formal writing, especially in words like 轶事 (anecdote) and 轶闻 (unverified news). It is not common in daily speech but appears in historical or literary contexts to describe interesting lost stories. A related character 逸 (yì) is more common for "leisure," but 轶 specifically implies "lost" or "extraordinary."

Common words containing 轶 include: 轶事 (yì shì) — Anecdote; 轶闻 (yì wén) — Anecdote; rumor; 散轶 (sàn yì) — lost / dispersed (simplified form).