Kanji Kaisen

漢字Kanji · in Nature & Elements

易: easy, ready to

Also: simple, fortune-telling, divination

JLPT N38 strokesGrade 5Your ink: 白 Not met

日 carries the meaning · 勿 is drawn in

8 strokes

Four readings, and the words that use each

エキeki · on'yomi · in compounds

  • 易者えきしゃfortuneteller
  • 貿易ぼうえきtrade [n.]

イi · on'yomi

  • 容易なよういなeasy
  • 安易なあんいなeasy-going
  • 難易度なんいどdegree of difficulty

やさしいyasashii · kun'yomi · on its own

  • 易しいやさしいeasy

やすいyasui · kun'yomi

  • 壊れ易いこわれやすいfragile

Words: Kanji alive, CC BY 4.0.

Learn it 4 steps
Print sheet Present
成り立ち

Where it comes from

Origin · sourced

Pictogram (象形)

Oracle bone script and bronze inscriptions: a pictogram (象形) of a filled container, the original form of 賜 (“to confer, to bestow”). Possibly specialised from 益 (“to increase, to add”).

Source: Wiktionary, 易 (rev. 92719823), CC BY-SA 4.0

Memory story · made up to help you remember

“The life-giving sun in the sky! This simple box was once a perfect circle, representing the regular rising and setting of the sun that marks the rhythm of our lives.”
More in the 日 sun story
繋がり
Ink shades, lightest to darkest: 白 Not met, 淡 Met, 中 Learning, 濃 Familiar, 印 Mastered
日

Also built on sun (日)

All 70
勿

Also built on 勿

易 gives its sound to

Sound parts: KanjiVG.

Also read エキ

6 kanji share this on'yomi

Also read イ

31 kanji share this on'yomiAll 31

Easy to confuse

The difference, side by side
易 easy · 日 + 勿
vs的 bull's eye · 白 + 勺
易 has 日 + 勿 where 的 has 白 + 勺.
In ChineseSame character in simplified and traditional · yì

Same form: 易 is written the same way in mainland China (simplified) and in Taiwan and Hong Kong (traditional).

Simplified
易 mainland China, Singapore
Traditional
易 Taiwan, Hong Kong

Pinyin yì most common reading

Forms and pinyin: Unicode Unihan database (Unicode License v3). Pinyin lists the most common reading, not every reading.

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