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夷
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barbarian

HSK 7
Human →Relations →Groups
yí
イ
えびす、えみし、ころ.す、たい.らげる
이
Originally depicted a rope wrapped around an arrow. The current meaning is a phonetic loan.
Notes
Historical Evolution
Oracle (~1250-1000 BC)
Oracle
(~1250-1000 BC)
Bronze Late Western Zhou (~800 BC)
Bronze
Late Western Zhou (~800 BC)
Bronze Late Western Zhou (~800 BC)
Bronze
Late Western Zhou (~800 BC)
Bronze Early Warring States (~400 BC)
Bronze
Early Warring States (~400 BC)
Seal Chu (Warring States: 475-221 BC)
Seal
Chu (Warring States: 475-221 BC)
Seal Chu (Warring States: 475-221 BC)
Seal
Chu (Warring States: 475-221 BC)
Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)
Seal
Shuowen (~100 AD)
Clerical Qin dynasty (221-206 BC)
Clerical
Qin dynasty (221-206 BC)
Clerical Western Han dynasty (202 BC-9 AD)
Clerical
Western Han dynasty (202 BC-9 AD)
Clerical Western Han dynasty (202 BC-9 AD)
Clerical
Western Han dynasty (202 BC-9 AD)
Clerical Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)
Clerical
Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)
Clerical Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)
Clerical
Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)
夷
Regular
Modern
Chinese
夷 [yí]
non-Han people, esp. to the East of China; barbarians; to wipe out; to exterminate; to tear down; to raze
Japanese
恵比寿 (ateji) 、 戎 、 夷 、 蛭子 (rare) 、 恵比須 (rare) 、 水蛭子 (rare) えびす 、 ゑびす 、 ひるこ (rare) 、 えべす (rare) 同音
noun Ebisu; (explanation) god of fishing and commerce
夷 い 同音
noun barbarian
夷 、 戎 えびす 同音

noun

  1. archaic peoples formerly of northern Japan with distinct language and culture (i.e. the Ainu)
  2. provincial (i.e. a person who lives far from the city)
  3. brutish, unsophisticated warrior (esp. used by Kyoto samurai to refer to samurai from eastern Japan)
  4. derogatory foreigner; barbarian
Example Sentences
Japanese Names
夷 えびす
Ebisu surname
CHINESE WORDS (54)
夏威夷 [Xià​wēi​yí] #3,758
Hawaii, US state
匪夷所思 [fěi​yí​suǒ​sī] #17,906
unimaginable
夷为平地 [yí​wéi​píng​dì] #16,410
to level
夷为平地 [yí​wéi​píng​dì] #16,410
to level
武夷山 [Wǔ​yí​shān] #21,242
Mt Wuyi in Fujian
鄙夷 [bǐ​yí] #44,747
to despise
化险为夷 [huà​xiǎn​wéi​yí] #27,455
to turn peril into safety (idiom); to avert disaster
化险为夷 [huà​xiǎn​wéi​yí] #27,455
to turn peril into safety (idiom); to avert disaster
蛮夷 [mán​yí] #38,575
common term for non-Han peoples in former times, not exclusively derogatory
蛮夷 [mán​yí] #38,575
common term for non-Han peoples in former times, not exclusively derogatory
44 more items
JAPANESE WORDS (70)
⭐ 蝦夷 [えみし] #41,731
Emishi
攘夷 [じょうい] #46,913
expulsion of foreigners
⭐ 恵比寿 [えびす] #47,463
Ebisu
征夷大将軍 [せいいたいしょうぐん] #56,147
commander-in-chief of the expeditionary force against the barbarians (beginning in 794 CE)
焼夷弾 [しょういだん] #58,407
incendiary bomb
蝦夷地 [えぞち] #67,313
Yezo (northern part of Meiji-era Japan, esp. Hokkaido, but also Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands)
夷狄 [いてき] #73,720
barbarians
尊皇攘夷 [そんのうじょうい] #74,342
revere the Emperor, expel the (Western) barbarians
焼夷 [しょうい] #77,162
burning (something) away
東夷 [あずまえびす] #97,642
warrior from the eastern parts of Japan
60 more items