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一

Mandarin · pinyin yī

one
single
a (article)
as soon as
entire; whole; all; throughout
"one" radical in Chinese characters (Kangxi radical 1)
also pr. yāo for greater clarity when spelling out numbers digit by digit

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Characters in this entry

一: yī · one; a, an; alone

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

1 · yi1

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1character link42same-tone records

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Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 20 senses · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

jat1

Cantonese word readings for 一. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

character · Etymology 1

one
each; every
single; alone
whole; entire; all: throughout
same; identical; uniform
(formal) another; alternative
A qualifier of certain aforementioned thing.
With the verb modified reduplicated, expressing the transience of the verb: — Indicating that the action has occurred only once
With the verb modified reduplicated, expressing the transience of the verb: — Indicating the intention to try
once; as soon as; upon
(literary) to unify; to standardize
(literary) surprisingly; unexpectedly
(gay slang) top
(Cantonese, cant, euphemistic) to die
(Xiamen Hokkien) extremely; very; highly

character · Etymology 2

(music) Kunqu gongche notation for the note low ti (7̣).

character · Etymology 3

(Min) one
(Min) each; every
(Min) whole; entire; all

character · Etymology 4

(Beijing Mandarin) one

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

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