夷

Translingual

Han character

夷 (Kangxi radical 37, 大+3, 6 strokes, cangjie input 大弓 (KN) or 難大弓 (XKN), four-corner 5003₂, composition ⿻大弓)

Derived terms

• 姨, 咦, 胰, 蛦, 桋, 跠, 鮧, 侇, 峓, 恞, 痍, 洟, 羠, 鴺, 荑, 𢓡

References

• Kangxi Dictionary: page 249, character 15
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 5852
• Dae Jaweon: page 509, character 7
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 1, page 527, character 5
• Unihan data for U+5937

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Chinese

simp. and trad.		夷

Glyph origin

Historical forms of the character 夷
Shang	Western Zhou	Warring States	Shuowen Jiezi (compiled in Han)	Liushutong (compiled in Ming)
Oracle bone script	Bronze inscriptions	Chu slip and silk script	Small seal script	Transcribed ancient scripts

Characters in the same phonetic series (夷) (Zhengzhang, 2003) 

	Old Chinese
桋	*l'iːl, *lil
荑	*l'iːl, *lil
銕	*l'iːl, *l̥ʰiːd
鴺	*l'iːl, *lil
鮧	*l'iːl, *lil
洟	*l̥ʰiːls, *lil
羠	*ljilʔ, *lil
咦	*hril
夷	*lil
姨	*lil
痍	*lil
峓	*lil
恞	*lil
眱	*lil
蛦	*lil
胰	*lil, *lɯ
跠	*lil

Ideogrammic compound (會意／会意) : 大 (“big”) + 弓 (“bow”).

Etymology

According to Yuè Juè Shū (越絕書), 夷 (OC *lil) is also the Yue word for "sea". Therefore, Schuessler (2007) proposes an Austroasiatic origin; compare Proto-Mon-Khmer *d(n)liʔ (“large river, sea”) (whence Khmer ទន្លេ (tŭənlei, “large river”) and Kuy thlèː (“sea”)). Meanwhile, Schuessler associates similar Hmong forms like Chuanqiandian Cluster Miao tl̥e (“river”) (< Proto-Hmong-Mien *gle) to *溪 (OC *kʰeː) "creek, rivulet, rill" instead.

In contrast, Ferlus (2009) reconstructs 夷's Old Chinese pronunciation as [lɨ] and connects 夷 to Proto-Kra-Dai *k-ri: (“Kra-Dai endonym”) (whence Thai ไท (tai, “"Tai endonym"”) and Hlai Hlai (“"Hlai endonym"”)). However, Ferlus concedes that such a derivation of 夷 from *k-ri: "remains speculative, [...] not as firmly established as for Hlai and Tai/Thai".

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): yí (yi²)

  (Zhuyin): ㄧˊ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): ji⁴
• Northern Min (KCR): ǐ
• Southern Min

  (Hokkien, POJ): thâi / î

  (Teochew, Peng'im): i⁵

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: yí
    • Zhuyin: ㄧˊ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: yí
    • Wade–Giles: i²
    • Yale: yí
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: yi
    • Palladius: и (i)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /i³⁵/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
    • Jyutping: ji⁴
    • Yale: yìh
    • Cantonese Pinyin: ji⁴
    • Guangdong Romanization: yi⁴
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /jiː²¹/
• Northern Min
  • (Jian'ou)
    • Kienning Colloquial Romanized: ǐ
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /i²¹/
• Southern Min
  • (Hokkien: Xiamen, Quanzhou, Zhangzhou)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: thâi
    • Tâi-lô: thâi
    • Phofsit Daibuun: taai
    • IPA (Zhangzhou): /tʰai¹³/
    • IPA (Xiamen, Quanzhou): /tʰai²⁴/
  • (Hokkien: Quanzhou, General Taiwanese, Xiamen, Zhangzhou)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: î
    • Tâi-lô: î
    • Phofsit Daibuun: ii
    • IPA (Quanzhou, Taipei, Xiamen): /i²⁴/
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /i²³/
    • IPA (Zhangzhou): /i¹³/

Note:

• thâi - vernacular;
• î - literary.

• (Teochew)
  • Peng'im: i⁵
  • Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: î
  • Sinological IPA ^(key): /i⁵⁵/

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• Dialectal data

Variety	Location	edit 夷
Mandarin	Beijing	/i³⁵/
	Harbin	/i²⁴/
	Tianjin	/i⁴⁵/
	Jinan	/i⁴²/
	Qingdao	/i⁴²/
	Zhengzhou	/i⁴²/
	Xi'an	/i²⁴/
	Xining	/ji²¹³/
	Yinchuan	/i⁵³/
	Lanzhou	/i⁵³/
	Ürümqi	/i⁵¹/
	Wuhan	/i²¹³/
	Chengdu	/i³¹/
	Guiyang	/i²¹/
	Kunming	/i³¹/
	Nanjing	/i²⁴/
	Hefei	/zz̩⁵⁵/
Jin	Taiyuan	/i¹¹/
	Pingyao	/i¹³/
	Hohhot	/i³¹/
Wu	Shanghai	/ɦi²³/
	Suzhou	/ɦi¹³/
	Hangzhou	/ɦi²¹³/
	Wenzhou	/ji³¹/
Hui	Shexian	/i⁴⁴/
	Tunxi	/i⁴⁴/
Xiang	Changsha	/i¹³/
	Xiangtan	/i¹²/
Gan	Nanchang	/i⁴⁵/
Hakka	Meixian	/i¹¹/
	Taoyuan	/ʒï¹¹/
Cantonese	Guangzhou	/ji²¹/
	Nanning	/ji²¹/
	Hong Kong	/ji²¹/
Min	Xiamen (Hokkien)	/i³⁵/
	Fuzhou (Eastern Min)	/i⁵³/
	Jian'ou (Northern Min)	/i²¹/
	Shantou (Teochew)	/i⁵⁵/
	Haikou (Hainanese)	/zi³¹/

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• Middle Chinese: yij

Rime
Character	夷
Reading #	1/1
Initial (聲)	以 (36)
Final (韻)	脂 (15)
Tone (調)	Level (Ø)
Openness (開合)	Open
Division (等)	III
Fanqie	以脂切
Baxter	yij
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/jiɪ/
Pan Wuyun	/ji/
Shao Rongfen	/jɪ/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/ji/
Li Rong	/i/
Wang Li	/ji/
Bernard Karlgren	/i/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	yí
Expected Cantonese Reflex	ji4

• Old Chinese

  (Baxter–Sagart): /*ləj/

  (Zhengzhang): /*lil/

Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	夷	夷
Reading #	1/2	2/2
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	yí	yí
Middle Chinese	‹ yij ›	‹ yij ›
Old Chinese	/*ləj/	/*ləj/
English	level, peaceful	foreigner (especially to the east)
Notes for Old Chinese notations in the Baxter–Sagart system: * Parentheses "()" indicate uncertain presence; * Square brackets "[]" indicate uncertain identity, e.g. *[t] as coda may in fact be *-t or *-p; * Angle brackets "<>" indicate infix; * Hyphen "-" indicates morpheme boundary; * Period "." indicates syllable boundary.

Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character	夷
Reading #	1/1
No.	14862
Phonetic component	夷
Rime group	脂
Rime subdivision	1
Corresponding MC rime	姨
Old Chinese	/*lil/

Definitions

(deprecated template usage) 夷

1. an ancient tribe in eastern China
2. barbarian; foreigners

   學夷技以制夷／学夷技以制夷 [Classical Chinese]  ―  xué yí jì yǐ zhì yí [Pinyin]  ―  learn the Westerners' tricks so as to control them

3. to level; to raze
4. flat; level; smooth
5. to eradicate; to obliterate
6. someone of the same generation
7. happy; joyous
8. 23rd tetragram of the Taixuanjing; "ease" (𝌜)

Synonyms

Dialectal synonyms of 外國人 (“foreigner”) [map]

Variety	Location	Words edit
Classical Chinese		夷, 夷人, 外夷, 四夷, 胡人
Formal (Written Standard Chinese)		外國人, 外賓, 外人, 洋人
Northeastern Mandarin	Beijing	老外, 色糖
	Taiwan	外國人, 老外
	Harbin	外國人, 老外
	Singapore	外國人
Jilu Mandarin	Tianjin	老外
	Jinan	外國人, 老外, 洋人
Jiaoliao Mandarin	Yantai (Muping)	外國人
Central Plains Mandarin	Luoyang	老外, 洋人, 洋鬼子
	Wanrong	洋人
	Xi'an	老外, 洋人
	Yanqi	外國人
	Xuzhou	老外
	Sokuluk (Gansu Dungan)	外國人, 夷人
Lanyin Mandarin	Yinchuan	洋人, 老外, 洋鬼子
	Lanzhou	外國人
Southwestern Mandarin	Chengdu	老外, 外國人, 洋人
	Wuhan	外國人, 洋人
	Guiyang	外國人, 洋人
	Kunming	老外, 洋老咪
	Guilin	外國人
	Liuzhou	老外
Jianghuai Mandarin	Nanjing	外國人, 老外, 洋人, 洋鬼子
	Yangzhou	外國人, 老外
Cantonese	Guangzhou	外國人
	Hong Kong	外國人
	Taishan	老外
	Dongguan	番鬼佬, 鬼佬
	Qinzhou	鬼佬, 外國佬, 番鬼佬
	Beihai (Qiaogang - Cô Tô)	老番鬼
	Beihai (Qiaogang - Cát Bà)	鬼佬
	Singapore (Guangfu)	外國人
	Ho Chi Minh City (Guangfu)	鬼佬
	Móng Cái	外國人, 鬼佬
	Yangon (Taishan)	紅毛鬼, 外國人
	Mandalay (Taishan)	外國人
Gan	Nanchang	外國人, 洋人
	Pengze	外國佬
	Lichuan	外國人, 洋人
	Pingxiang	洋人
Hakka	Meixian	外國人, 番人, 番仔, 番鬼
	Yudu	外國人, 外國佬, 洋人
	Miaoli (N. Sixian)	外國人
	Pingtung (Neipu; S. Sixian)	外國人
	Hsinchu County (Zhudong; Hailu)	外國人
	Taichung (Dongshi; Dabu)	外國人
	Hsinchu County (Qionglin; Raoping)	外國人
	Yunlin (Lunbei; Zhao'an)	外國人
Huizhou	Jixi	外國佬
Jin	Taiyuan	外國人, 洋人, 洋鬼子
	Xinzhou	外國人
Northern Min	Jian'ou	外國人, 番仔
Eastern Min	Fuzhou	番儂, 番囝, 番囝哥, 鬼佬
Southern Min	Xiamen	外國儂, 番仔
	Quanzhou	番仔
	Hui'an	外國仔
	Zhangzhou	番仔
	Singapore (Hokkien)	外國儂
	Manila (Hokkien)	外國儂
	Shantou	外國儂, 番鬼, 番囝
	Singapore (Teochew)	外地儂, 外國儂
	Leizhou	番邦儂
Central Min	Yanping (Wangtai)	外國人
Zhongshan Min	Sanxiang	番鬼佬
Southern Pinghua	Nanning (Tingzi)	外國人
Wu	Shanghai	老外, 外國人, 外頭人, 洋人
	Shanghai (Chongming)	外國人
	Suzhou	外國人
	Danyang	老外, 洋人
	Hangzhou	外國佬兒
	Wenzhou	番人
	Jinhua	外國人, 外國佬, 洋鬼子兒
Xiang	Changsha	外國人, 外國佬, 洋人子, 洋人
	Loudi	洋人, 外國佬
Note	Terms that include 鬼 and/or 番 are potentially derogatory.

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Japanese

Kanji

夷

(“Jinmeiyō” kanji used for names)

1. ancient tribes in eastern China
2. level (flat and low)
3. levelled destruction

Readings

• Go-on: い (i)
• Kan-on: い (i)
• Kun: えびす (ebisu, 夷); ころす (korosu, 夷す); たいらげる (tairageru, 夷らげる)^{←たひらげる (tafirageru, 夷らげる, historical)}
• Nanori: ひな (hina); ひら (hira)

Compounds

Compounds

• 以(い)夷(い)攻(こう)夷(い) (īkōi)
• 夷(い)狄(てき) (iteki)
• 華(か)夷(い) (Kai)
• 九(きゅう)夷(い) (Kyūi)
• 険(けん)夷(い), 嶮(けん)夷(い) (ken'i)
• 攘(じょう)夷(い) (jōi)
• 焼(しょう)夷(い) (shōi)
• 東(とう)夷(い) (Tōi)
• 平(へい)夷(い) (heī)
• 蛮(ばん)夷(い), 蕃(ばん)夷(い) (ban'i)
• 蝦夷(えぞ) (Ezo)
• 蝦夷(えみし) (Emishi)

Etymology 1

Kanji in this term
夷
えびす Jinmeiyō
kun’yomi

⟨emi₁si⟩ → */emʲisɨ/ → /emisə/ → /ebisu/

Shift from Old Japanese 蝦夷 (Emishi), modern Ezo.

Alternative forms

• 戎

Noun

夷(えびす) • (ebisu) 

1. (historical) Synonym of 蝦夷 (Ezo): an ancient ethnic group attested in the Nihon Shoki that once lived on what is now the Kantō, Hokuriku and Tōhoku regions, likely as far as Hokkaido, possibly related to the Ainu people; dubbed as "barbarians" or "savages" by the Yamato
2. a person living far away from the 都 (miyako, “capital”), loosely translated to "bumpkin" or "hick"

   Synonym: 田舎者 (inakamono)

3. (regional, derogatory) a barbarian, savage, especially referring to the 東夷 (azuma-ebisu, “warrior from the eastern parts of Japan”)
   • 1204, Akishino Gesseishū (book 1, poem 223)

     わがおもふ人(ひと)だにすまばみちのくのえびすの里(さと)もうときものかは

     waga omou hito dani sumaba Michinoku no ebisu no sato utoki mono ka wa

     (please add an English translation of this example)

4. (by extension, derogatory) a foreigner

Derived terms

• 東(あずま)夷(えびす) (azuma-ebisu)

Proper noun

夷(えびす) • (Ebisu) 

Etymology 2

Kanji in this term
夷
い Jinmeiyō
on’yomi

/ji/ → /i/

From Middle Chinese 夷 (MC yij), originally referred to one of the ancient tribes east of China.

Noun

夷(い) • (i) 

1. those people with differing languages and/or cultures

   Synonym: 異民族 (iminzoku)

2. a barbarian, savage; uncivilized people (living to the east of ancient Imperial China; included Japan)

   Synonym: 野蛮人 (yabanjin)

3. a neutral (position)

   Synonym: 無色 (mushoku)

Derived terms

• 征(せい)夷(い) (seī)

Idioms

• 夷(い)を以(もっ)て夷(い)を制(せい)す (i o motte i o seisu)

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Korean

Hanja

夷 (eumhun 오랑캐 이 (orangkae i))

1. barbarian

Hanja

夷 (eumhun 평평할 이 (pyeongpyeonghal i))

1. flat

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Vietnamese

Han character

(deprecated template usage) 夷 (dì, dai, di, gì, rợ)

1. This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.