How to say “one” in Chinese
one
“One” in Chinese is 一, yī: the meaning, a recording of how it sounds, the characters stroke by stroke and examples.
How to pronounce it
一 is read yī. The tone is part of the word: with another melody you get another word, or just a jumble of sounds.
How to write it
Before a measure word its tone changes: yí before a fourth tone, yì before the others. In numbers and dates it stays yī.
Strokes go in order: top to bottom and left to right, horizontal before vertical. Tap a character to open its page, with the strokes shown large and the words it appears in. To train your hand, print a handwriting sheet for “一”.
Examples
Sentences from the course lessons with 一. Tap the sound icon to listen.
- 我会说一点儿wǒhuìshuōyìdiǎnrI can speak a little.
- 我会说一点儿中文wǒhuìshuōyìdiǎnrZhōngwénI can speak a little Chinese.
- 我学汉语会说一点儿wǒxuéHànyǔ,huìshuōyìdiǎnrI’m learning Chinese and can speak a little.
- 一二三四五yī,èr,sān,sì,wǔOne, two, three, four, five.
- 我有一个哥哥wǒyǒuyígegēgeI have one older brother.
- 我有一个女儿wǒyǒuyígenǚ’érI have a daughter.
More characters by topic — happiness, luck, strength, nature — on the page “Chinese characters with meanings”.
More words from the lesson “Counting to five”
Look up another word in the Chinese–English dictionary: in English, in pinyin or in characters.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say “one” in Chinese?
“One” in Chinese is 一, pinyin yī.
What does 一 mean?
一 (yī) means “one”.
How do you write 一?
一 is 1 character. The stroke order of each one is shown step by step on this page.
How do you pronounce 一?
一 is read yī. Tones: yī — first tone. The page has a native speaker recording.
“one” in the lesson “Counting to five”
This word is from the topic “Family and people” of HSK 1. In the lesson you hear it in a dialogue, build a sentence with it and say it out loud. Start for free, no sign-up needed.
Start for free