一

See also: ‐, –, -, −, —, ー, 丨, ㄧ, ㆪ, ㅡ, and 亠

一 U+4E00, 一 CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-4E00 ← ䷿ [U+4DFF] CJK Unified Ideographs 丁 → [U+4E01]

⼀ U+2F00, ⼀ KANGXI RADICAL ONE [unassigned: U+2EF4–U+2EFF] ← ⻳ [U+2EF3] Kangxi Radicals ⼁ → [U+2F01]

Translingual

Stroke order

Alternative forms

• ㆒ (U+3192) (Annotation mark for Japanese kanbun)
• 〡 (Suzhou numeral for one)
• ㈠, ㊀

Han character

Stroke order

一 (Kangxi radical 1, 一+0, 1 stroke, cangjie input 一 (M), four-corner 1000₀)

1. Kangxi radical #1, ⼀.
2. Shuowen Jiezi radical №1

Derived characters

• Appendix:Chinese_radical/一
• 𬂜, 𤰓, 𫢅, 𬏚, 𤕬, 𫜢, 㝉, 弌, 𬏚, 閂(闩)

Related characters

• 壹 (Financial form of 一)
• 壱 (Japanese shinjitai of 壹)
• 弌 (Ancient form of 一)

Descendants

• ㄧ (Zhuyin letter)

References

• KangXi: page 75, character 1
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 1
• Dae Jaweon: page 129, character 1
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 1, page 1, character 1
• Unihan data for U+4E00

Further reading

Wikisource

• 一 on Wikidata.Wikidata

---

Chinese

Glyph origin

Historical forms of the character 一
Shang		Western Zhou		Spring and Autumn	Warring States			Shuowen Jiezi (compiled in Han)		Hanjian (compiled in Song)	Guwen Sishengyun (compiled in Song)	Jizhuan Guwen Yunhai (compiled in Song)	Liushutong (compiled in Ming)	Libian (compiled in Qing)	Kangxi Dictionary (compiled in Qing)
Bronze inscriptions	Oracle bone script	Bronze inscriptions	Oracle bone script	Bronze inscriptions	Bronze inscriptions	Chu slip and silk script	Qin slip script	Ancient script	Small seal script	Transcribed ancient scripts	Transcribed ancient scripts	Transcribed ancient scripts	Transcribed ancient scripts	Clerical script	Ming typeface
Oracle bone script j00001 j00002 Bronze inscriptions B00001 B00002 B00003 B00004 B00005 B00006 B00007 B00008 B00009 B00010 B00011 B00012 B00013 B00014 B00015 Small seal script s00001 Transcribed ancient scripts L25931 L25932 L25933 L25934
References: Mostly from Richard Sears' Chinese Etymology site (authorisation), which in turn draws data from various collections of ancient forms of Chinese characters, including: Shuowen Jiezi (small seal), Jinwen Bian (bronze inscriptions), Liushutong (Liushutong characters) and Yinxu Jiaguwen Bian (oracle bone script).

Characters in the same phonetic series (一) (Zhengzhang, 2003) 

	Old Chinese
一	*qliɡ
弌	*qliɡ

Ideogram (指事): a horizontal stroke, indicating the number “one”.

Etymology 1

simp. and trad.		一
alternative forms		壹 financial 弌 ancient 𠤪 𭍶

From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *ʔit. Descendants from the *ʔit etymon account for the majority of the dialectal forms for “one” in Chinese (Mandarin, Jin, Gan, Hakka, Hui, Xiang, Yue, Wu groups, etc.).

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Standard)

  (Pinyin): yī (yi¹)

  (Zhuyin): ㄧ

  (Chengdu, SP): yi²

  (Dungan, Cyrillic and Wiktionary): йи (yi, I)

• Cantonese

  (Guangzhou, Jyutping): jat¹

  (Taishan, Wiktionary): yit²

• Gan (Wiktionary): it⁶
• Hakka

  (Sixian, PFS): yit

  (Meixian, Guangdong): yid⁵

• Jin (Wiktionary): ieh⁴
• Min Bei (KCR): ĭ
• Min Dong (BUC): ék

• Min Nan

  (Hokkien, POJ): it / et

  (Teochew, Peng'im): ig⁴ / êg⁴

• Wu (Wiktionary): iq (T4)
• Xiang (Wiktionary): i⁶

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Pinyin: yī
    • Zhuyin: ㄧ
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: i
    • Tongyong Pinyin: yi
    • Wade–Giles: i1
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /i⁵⁵/

Note:

• Subject to retrograde tone sandhi (see Wikipedia for details):
  • before fourth tone, pronounced with second tone;
  • before any other tone, pronounced with fourth tone;
  • when final (or at the end of a multi-syllable word), pronounced with the original tone (first tone);
  • when used in a series of numbers, as a part of a number, in dates, or in addresses, pronounced with the original tone (first tone).
• When used between two reduplicated words, it may be pronounced with neutral tone.

• (Chengdu)
  • Sichuanese Pinyin: yi²
  • Scuanxua Ladinxua Xin Wenz: i
  • Sinological IPA ^(key): /i²¹/
• (Dungan)
  • Cyrillic and Wiktionary: йи (yi, I)
  • Sinological IPA ^(key): /i²⁴/

  (Note: Dungan pronunciation is currently experimental and may be inaccurate.)

Cantonese

• (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou)⁺
  • Jyutping: jat¹
  • Yale: yāt
  • Cantonese Pinyin: jat⁷
  • Guangdong Romanization: yed¹
  • Sinological IPA ^(key): /jɐt̚⁵/
• (Taishanese, Taicheng)
  • Wiktionary: yit²
  • Sinological IPA ^(key): /jit̚⁵⁵/

Gan

• (Nanchang)
  • Wiktionary: it⁶
  • Sinological IPA ^(key): /it̚⁵/

Hakka

• (Northern Sixian, incl. Miaoli)
  • Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: yit
  • Hakka Romanization System: id`
  • Hagfa Pinyim: yid<sup>5</sup>
  • Sinological IPA: /it̚²/
• (Southern Sixian, incl. Meinong)
  • Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: yit
  • Hakka Romanization System: (r)id`
  • Hagfa Pinyim: yid⁵
  • Sinological IPA: /(j)it̚²/
• (Meixian)
  • Guangdong: yid⁵
  • Sinological IPA: /it̚¹/

Jin

• (Taiyuan)⁺
  • Wiktionary: ieh⁴
  • Sinological IPA (old-style): /iəʔ²/

Min Bei

• (Jian'ou)
  • Kienning Colloquial Romanized: ĭ
  • Sinological IPA ^(key): /i²⁴/

Min Dong

• (Fuzhou)
  • Bàng-uâ-cê: ék
  • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ɛiʔ²⁴/

Min Nan

• (Hokkien: Xiamen, Quanzhou, Zhangzhou, Jinjiang, Nan'an, Zhangpu, Changtai, Longyan, General Taiwanese, Penang, Singapore, Philippines)
  • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: it
  • Tâi-lô: it
  • Phofsit Daibuun: id
  • IPA (Quanzhou, Jinjiang, Nan'an, Longyan, Philippines): /it̚⁵/
  • IPA (Xiamen, Zhangzhou, Zhangpu, Changtai, Taipei, Kaohsiung, Singapore): /it̚³²/
  • IPA (Penang): /it̚³/
• (Hokkien: Hui'an)
  • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: et
  • Tâi-lô: et
  • Phofsit Daibuun: ed
  • IPA (Hui'an): /et̚⁴/
• (Teochew)
  • Peng'im: ig⁴ / êg⁴
  • Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: ik / ek
  • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ik̚²/, /ek̚²/

Wu

• (Shanghainese)
  • Wiktionary: iq (T4)
  • Sinological IPA ^(key): /i̯ɪʔ⁵⁵/

Xiang

• (Changsha)
  • Wiktionary: i⁶
  • Sinological IPA ^(key): /i²⁴/

---

• Dialectal data

Variety	Location	edit 一
Mandarin	Beijing	/i⁵⁵/
	Harbin
	Tianjin
	Jinan	/i²¹³/
	Qingdao
	Zhengzhou
	Xi'an	/i²¹/
	Xining
	Yinchuan
	Lanzhou
	Ürümqi
	Wuhan	/i²¹³/
	Chengdu	/i²¹/
	Guiyang
	Kunming
	Nanjing
	Hefei	/ieʔ⁴/
Jin	Taiyuan	/ieʔ²/
	Pingyao
	Hohhot
Wu	Shanghai
	Suzhou	/iɪʔ⁴/
	Hangzhou
	Wenzhou	/iai³²³ / 白 /i³²³ / 文
Hui	Shexian
	Tunxi
Xiang	Changsha	/i²⁴/
	Xiangtan
Gan	Nanchang	/it̚⁵/
Hakka	Meixian	/it̚¹/
	Taoyuan
Cantonese	Guangzhou	/jɐt̚⁵/
	Nanning
	Hong Kong
Min	Xiamen (Min Nan)	/it̚³²/ /tsit̚⁵ / 俗
	Fuzhou (Min Dong)	/eiʔ²³/ /suɔʔ⁴ / 俗
	Jian'ou (Min Bei)	/i²⁴/ /tsi⁴² / 俗
	Shantou (Min Nan)
	Haikou (Min Nan)

---

• Middle Chinese: /ʔiɪt̚/

Rime
Character	一
Reading #	1/1
Initial (聲)	影 (34)
Final (韻)	質 (48)
Tone (調)	Checked (Ø)
Openness (開合)	Open
Division (等)	III
Fanqie	於悉切
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/ʔiɪt̚/
Pan Wuyun	/ʔit̚/
Shao Rongfen	/ʔjet̚/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/ʔit̚/
Li Rong	/ʔiĕt̚/
Wang Li	/ĭĕt̚/
Bernard Karlgren	/ʔi̯ĕt̚/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	yi
Expected Cantonese Reflex	jat1

• Old Chinese

  (Baxter–Sagart): /*ʔi[t]/

  (Zhengzhang): /*qliɡ/

Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	一
Reading #	1/1
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	yī
Middle Chinese	‹ ʔjit ›
Old Chinese	/*ʔi[t]/
English	one
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	一
Reading #	1/1
No.	14833
Phonetic component	一
Rime group	質
Rime subdivision	2
Corresponding MC rime	一
Old Chinese	/*qliɡ/

Definitions

一

1. one

   一長一短 / 一长一短  ―  yī cháng yī duǎn  ―  one short and one long

   一死一傷 / 一死一伤  ―  yī sǐ yī shāng  ―  one dead, one injured

   一高一低  ―  yī gāo yī dī  ―  one high and one low

   一天一夜  ―  yī tiān yī yè  ―  one day and one night

   一日一夜 [Cantonese]  ―  jat¹ jat⁶ jat¹ je⁶ [Jyutping]  ―  one day and one night

   一左一右  ―  yī zuǒ yī yòu  ―  one left, one right

2. each; every

   給他們一人一顆蘋果。 [MSC, trad.]
   给他们一人一颗苹果。 [MSC, simp.]

   Gěi tā men yī rén yī kē píngguǒ. [Pinyin]

   Give them an apple each.

3. single; alone

   獨自一人 / 独自一人  ―  dúzì yī rén  ―  a solitary person, one person

   專一 / 专一  ―  zhuānyī  ―  single-minded, monogamous

4. whole; entire; all: throughout

   他們在海灘上玩了一下午。 [MSC, trad.]
   他们在海滩上玩了一下午。 [MSC, simp.]

   Tāmen zài hǎitān shàng wán le yī xiàwǔ. [Pinyin]

   They played the whole afternoon on the beach.

5. same; identical

   大小不一  ―  dàxiǎo bù yī  ―  not having the same size

   大細不一 / 大细不一 [Cantonese]  ―  daai⁶ sai³ bat¹ jat¹ [Jyutping]  ―  not having the same size

6. (Classical Chinese) another; alternative

   蟋蟀，一名促織。 / 蟋蟀，一名促织。  ―  Xīshuài, yī míng cùzhī.  ―  Crickets, also called cùzhī [lit. another name [being] cùzhī].

7. (formal) certain aforementioned

   「旋律」一詞中的「旋」字 [MSC, trad.]
   “旋律”一词中的“旋”字 [MSC, simp.]

   “xuánlǜ” yī cí zhōng de “xuán” zì [Pinyin]

   the character 旋 (xuán) within the word 旋律 (xuánlǜ)

8. With the verb modified reduplicated, expressing the transience of the verb:
   1. Indicating that the action has occurred only once

      看一看  ―  kàn yī kàn  ―  to have a look

      望一望 [Cantonese]  ―  mong⁶ jat¹ mong⁶ [Jyutping]  ―  to have a look

   2. Indicating the intention to try

      算一算  ―  suàn yī suàn  ―  to try to calculate it

      計一計 / 计一计 [Cantonese]  ―  gai³ jat¹ gai³ [Jyutping]  ―  to try to calculate it

9. once; as soon as; upon

   一到OP就卡。  ―  Yī dào OP jiù kǎ.  ―  It slows down once I get to the opening.

   我一拍了照片，她就立即成為眾人矚目的焦點。 [MSC, trad.]
   我一拍了照片，她就立即成为众人瞩目的焦点。 [MSC, simp.]

   Wǒ yī pāi le zhàopiàn, tā jiù lìjí chéngwèi zhòngrén zhǔmù de jiāodiǎn. [Pinyin]

   As soon as I took a picture, she ran towards the limelight.

10. ^† for the first time; at the beginning

    一見如故 / 一见如故  ―  yījiànrúgù  ―  to hit it off

11. ^† surprisingly; unexpectedly

    一至於此 / 一至于此  ―  yīzhìyúcǐ  ―  How did things ever get so far?

12. (LGBT, slang) a top

    一號 / 一号  ―  yīhào  ―  a top

    alt. forms: 1

Usage notes

• In Mandarin, when spelling “one” as a phone number, on dice, or in dominoes, one is often pronounced 幺 (yāo). This is similar to the English pronunciation of “0” as “o” in strings of digits, such as 90210.
• See pronunciation section for tone sandhi rules in Modern Standard Chinese. Also see Category:Mandarin words containing 一 undergoing tone sandhi and Category:Mandarin words containing 一 not undergoing tone sandhi.

Synonyms

• See 一/derived_terms § Chinese.

See also

• 幺 (yāo) (when spelling one as a phone number)

Chinese numbers
	0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	102	103	104	108	1012
Normal (小寫／小写)	〇, 零	一	二	三	四	五	六	七	八	九	十	百	千	萬／万 十千 (Malaysia, Singapore)	億／亿	兆 (Taiwan) 萬億／万亿 (Mainland China)
Financial (大寫／大写)	零	壹	貳／贰	參／叁	肆	伍	陸／陆	柒	捌	玖	拾	佰	仟

Quotations

For quotations using this term, see Citations:一.

Compounds

• See 一/derived_terms § Chinese.

Descendants

• See 一/derived_terms § Chinese.

Etymology 2

simp. and trad.		一
alternative forms		蜀

Form used as the colloquial reading for “one” in most Min varieties: Fuzhou/Fuding suoʔ⁸, Fuqing θyo⁸, Gutian syøʔ⁸, Ningde søʔ⁸, Zhouning sɔʔ⁸, Putian ɬoʔ⁸, Xiamen/Quanzhou/Yongchun/Zhangzhou tsit̚⁸, Leizhou/Haikou ziak⁸, Longyan tse⁴, Youxi ɕie⁷, Jian'ou/Songxi tsi⁵, Jianyang tsi⁸. Whether all of the forms above are related and their origins remain unelucidated; they may be derived from 蜀 (cf. 獨 (“single, alone”); often written when read with the colloquial reading), 隻 (< *tjak ~ g-t(j)ik) or 禃. Some Fujian dialects use 個 and 寡 for “one”.

Pronunciation

• Min Bei (KCR): cì
• Min Dong (BUC): siŏh
• Min Nan

  (Hokkien, POJ): chi̍t / che̍t

  (Teochew, Peng'im): zêg⁸

---

• Min Bei
  • (Jian'ou)
    • Kienning Colloquial Romanized: cì
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡si⁴²/
• Min Dong
  • (Fuzhou)
    • Bàng-uâ-cê: siŏh
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /suoʔ⁵/
• Min Nan
  • (Hokkien: Xiamen, Quanzhou, Zhangzhou, Jinjiang, Nan'an, Changtai, Longyan, General Taiwanese, Penang, Singapore, Philippines)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: chi̍t
    • Tâi-lô: tsi̍t
    • Phofsit Daibuun: cit
    • IPA (Singapore): /t͡ɕit̚⁴³/
    • IPA (Quanzhou, Jinjiang, Philippines): /t͡ɕit̚²⁴/
    • IPA (Longyan): /t͡ɕit̚⁵³/
    • IPA (Changtai): /t͡ɕit̚³/
    • IPA (Xiamen, Taipei, Kaohsiung, Penang): /t͡ɕit̚⁴/
    • IPA (Nan'an): /t͡ɕit̚²³/
    • IPA (Zhangzhou): /t͡ɕit̚¹²¹/
  • (Hokkien: Hui'an)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: che̍t
    • Tâi-lô: tse̍t
    • Phofsit Daibuun: zet
    • IPA (Hui'an): /t͡set̚²³/
  • (Teochew)
    • Peng'im: zêg⁸
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: tse̍k
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sek̚⁴/

---

• Dialectal data

Variety	Location	edit 一
Mandarin	Beijing	/i⁵⁵/
	Harbin
	Tianjin
	Jinan	/i²¹³/
	Qingdao
	Zhengzhou
	Xi'an	/i²¹/
	Xining
	Yinchuan
	Lanzhou
	Ürümqi
	Wuhan	/i²¹³/
	Chengdu	/i²¹/
	Guiyang
	Kunming
	Nanjing
	Hefei	/ieʔ⁴/
Jin	Taiyuan	/ieʔ²/
	Pingyao
	Hohhot
Wu	Shanghai
	Suzhou	/iɪʔ⁴/
	Hangzhou
	Wenzhou	/iai³²³ / 白 /i³²³ / 文
Hui	Shexian
	Tunxi
Xiang	Changsha	/i²⁴/
	Xiangtan
Gan	Nanchang	/it̚⁵/
Hakka	Meixian	/it̚¹/
	Taoyuan
Cantonese	Guangzhou	/jɐt̚⁵/
	Nanning
	Hong Kong
Min	Xiamen (Min Nan)	/it̚³²/ /tsit̚⁵ / 俗
	Fuzhou (Min Dong)	/eiʔ²³/ /suɔʔ⁴ / 俗
	Jian'ou (Min Bei)	/i²⁴/ /tsi⁴² / 俗
	Shantou (Min Nan)
	Haikou (Min Nan)

Definitions

一

1. (Min) one
2. (Min) each; every
3. (Min) whole; entire; all

Etymology 3

simp. and trad.		一

Contraction of 一個／一个 (yī gè) (Zhou, 1998).

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): yí (yi²)

  (Zhuyin): ㄧˊ

---

• Mandarin
  • (Beijing dialect)⁺
    • Pinyin: yí
    • Zhuyin: ㄧˊ
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: i
    • Tongyong Pinyin: yí
    • Wade–Giles: i2
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /i³⁵/

---

• Dialectal data

Variety	Location	edit 一
Mandarin	Beijing	/i⁵⁵/
	Harbin
	Tianjin
	Jinan	/i²¹³/
	Qingdao
	Zhengzhou
	Xi'an	/i²¹/
	Xining
	Yinchuan
	Lanzhou
	Ürümqi
	Wuhan	/i²¹³/
	Chengdu	/i²¹/
	Guiyang
	Kunming
	Nanjing
	Hefei	/ieʔ⁴/
Jin	Taiyuan	/ieʔ²/
	Pingyao
	Hohhot
Wu	Shanghai
	Suzhou	/iɪʔ⁴/
	Hangzhou
	Wenzhou	/iai³²³ / 白 /i³²³ / 文
Hui	Shexian
	Tunxi
Xiang	Changsha	/i²⁴/
	Xiangtan
Gan	Nanchang	/it̚⁵/
Hakka	Meixian	/it̚¹/
	Taoyuan
Cantonese	Guangzhou	/jɐt̚⁵/
	Nanning
	Hong Kong
Min	Xiamen (Min Nan)	/it̚³²/ /tsit̚⁵ / 俗
	Fuzhou (Min Dong)	/eiʔ²³/ /suɔʔ⁴ / 俗
	Jian'ou (Min Bei)	/i²⁴/ /tsi⁴² / 俗
	Shantou (Min Nan)
	Haikou (Min Nan)

Definitions

一

1. (Beijing) one

   • 那是一深夜 [Beijing Mandarin, trad. and simp.]

     From: 2000, 梁左 and 梁欢, 《闲人马大姐》, episode 7, 18:30

     nèi shì yí shēnyè [Pinyin]

     It was a late night.

   • 嗬，您夠牛的，還雇一跟班兒的哈！ [Beijing Mandarin, trad.]
     嗬，您够牛的，还雇一跟班儿的哈！ [Beijing Mandarin, simp.]

     From: 2004, 《家有儿女》, episode 39, 02:02

     Hē, nín gòu niú de, hái gù yí gēnbānr de hā! [Pinyin]

     (please add an English translation of this example)

Usage notes

• This is pronounced as yí regardless of the succeeding tone (Tao, 2002). It is grammatically different from other tone sandhis of 一; it is used directly with a nominal without a classifier.

References

• “一”, in 漢語多功能字庫 (Multi-function Chinese Character Database)‎^[1], 香港中文大學 (the Chinese University of Hong Kong), 2014–
• Dictionary of Chinese Character Variants (教育部異體字字典), A00001
• “Entry #1”, in 臺灣閩南語常用詞辭典 [Dictionary of Frequently-Used Taiwan Minnan] (in Chinese and Min Nan), Ministry of Education, R.O.C., 2011.
• “Entry #2”, in 臺灣閩南語常用詞辭典 [Dictionary of Frequently-Used Taiwan Minnan] (in Chinese and Min Nan), Ministry of Education, R.O.C., 2011.

---

Japanese

Kanji

一

(grade 1 “Kyōiku” kanji)

Readings

• Go-on: いち (ichi, Jōyō)
• Kan-on: いつ (itsu, Jōyō)
• Kun: ひと (hito, 一, Jōyō); ひとつ (hitotsu, 一つ, Jōyō)
• Nanori: い (i); いっ (i'); いる (iru); おさむ (osamu)^{←をさむ (wosamu, historical)}; か (ka); かず (kazu); かた (kata); かつ (katsu); かづ (kazu); くに (kuni); すすむ (susumu); ただ (tada); ち (chi); つかさ (tsukasa); てん (ten); のぶ (nobu); はじむ (hajimu); はじめ (hajime); ひ (hi); ひじ (hiji)^{←ひぢ (fidi, historical)}; ひで (hide); ひとし (hitoshi); ひとつ (hitotsu); まこと (makoto); まさし (masashi); もと (moto)

Compounds

See 一/derived_terms § Japanese.

Etymology 1

Japanese cardinal numbers

<  0	1	2  >
Cardinal : 一

Kanji in this term
一
いち Grade: 1
goon

/itɨ/ → /it͡sɨ/ → /it͡ɕɨ/

From Middle Chinese 一 (MC ʔiɪt̚).

The 呉音 (goon, literally “Wu sound”) reading, so likely the initial borrowing from Middle Chinese.

Compare modern Hokkien reading it.

Alternative forms

• (financial/formal form) 壱, 弌
• (ancient form) 𪩩

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) いち​ [ìchíꜜ] (Odaka – [2])
• IPA^(key): [it͡ɕi]

• Audio

  (file)

Numeral

一(いち) • (ichi) 

1. one, 1

Usage notes

• 一(いち) is always omitted before 十(じゅう) (jū, “ten”) and 百(ひゃく) (hyaku, “hundred”), but never before the "myriad scale digit names" including 万(まん) (man, “ten thousand”), 億(おく) (oku, “hundred million”), 兆(ちょう) (chō, “trillion”) and their combinations.
• When before 千(せん) (sen, “thousand”), 一(いち) is omitted when 千(せん) is not directly followed by 万(まん), i.e. not before 千(せん)万(まん) (senman, “ten million”), and the omission is optional.

  千(せん)百(ひゃく)十(じゅう)一(いち)

  senhyakujūichi

  1,111

  百(ひゃく)万(まん)

  hyakuman

  1,000,000

  一(いっ)千(せん)万(まん)

  issenman

  10,000,000

  千(せん)一(いち)万(まん)

  sen'ichiman

  10,010,000

Noun

一(いち) • (ichi) 

1. one, 1
2. term relating to the number one:
   1. the first in order, foremost
   2. the beginning
   3. the best
   4. a kind of; one of something
   5. (card games) an ace
3. unity
4. the bottom string of a shamisen or other Japanese musical instrument

Idioms

• 一(いち)からやり直(なお)す (ichi kara yarinaosu)
• 一(いち)から十(じゅう)まで (ichi kara jū made)
• 一(いち)か八(ばち)か (ichika-bachika)
• 一(いち)も二(に)も無(な)く (ichi mo ni mo naku)

Suffix

一(いち) • (-ichi) 

1. the best in …; the most in …

   地(ち)球(きゅう)の娯(ご)楽(らく)は宇(う)宙(ちゅう)一(いち)！

   Chikyū no goraku wa uchū-ichi!

   The entertainments on the earth are the best in the universe!

   世(せ)界(かい)一(いち)かわいいよ。

   Sekai-ichi kawaii yo.

   It's the cutest in the world.

Affix

一(いち) • (ichi) 

1. one, 1
2. first, foremost
3. once
4. best, number one
5. bunch, bundle
6. entirely, wholly
7. certain one
8. merely, only

Proper noun

一(いち) • (Ichi) 

1. a surname

Derived terms

See 一/derived_terms § Japanese pronunciation 1.

Etymology 2

Kanji in this term
一
いつ Grade: 1
kan’on

/itʉ/ → /it͡sʉ/ → /it͡su/

From Middle Chinese 一 (MC ʔiɪt̚).

The 漢音 (kan'on, literally “Han sound”) reading, so likely a later borrowing from Middle Chinese.

Alternative forms

• (financial form) 壱, 弌

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) い​つ [íꜜtsù] (Atamadaka – [1])
• (Tokyo) いつ​ [ìtsúꜜ] (Odaka – [2])
• IPA^(key): [it͡sɨᵝ]

Noun

一(いつ) • (itsu) 

1. one
2. the same

Affix

一(いつ) • (itsu) 

1. one, 1
2. first, foremost
3. group
4. entirely, wholly
5. other
6. merely, only

Proper noun

一(いつ) • (Itsu) 

1. a female given name

Derived terms

See 一/derived_terms § Japanese pronunciation 2.

Etymology 3

Kanji in this term
一
ひと Grade: 1
kun’yomi

⟨pi₁to₂⟩ → */pʲitə/ → /ɸito/ → /hito/

From Old Japanese.

Related to 二 (futa, “two”), which is its double. Compare 三 (mi, “three”) and 六 (mu, “six”), 四 (yo, “four”) and 八 (ya, “eight”).

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) ひと​ [hìtóꜜ] (Odaka – [2])
• IPA^(key): [çito̞]

Numeral

一(ひと) • (hito) 

1. one, 1

Prefix

一(ひと) • (hito-) 

1. one, single
2. all
3. a bit
4. a certain time

Derived terms

See 一/derived_terms § Japanese pronunciation 3.

Etymology 4

Kanji in this term
一
ひ Grade: 1
Irregular

Shortening of hito above.

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) ひ​ [híꜜ] (Atamadaka – [1])
• IPA^(key): [çi]

Numeral

一(ひ) • (hi) 

1. one, 1

Etymology 5

Kanji in this term
一
ひい Grade: 1
Irregular

Long-pronounced form of hi above.

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) ひ​い [híꜜì] (Atamadaka – [1])
• IPA^(key): [çiː]

Numeral

一(ひい) • (hī) 

1. one, 1

Etymology 6

Kanji in this term
一
いい Grade: 1
Irregular

Borrowing from Mandarin 一 (yī) in the Qing Dynasty.

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) イ​ー [íꜜì] (Atamadaka – [1])
• IPA^(key): [iː]

Numeral

一(イー) • (ī) 

1. one, 1

Derived terms

See 一/derived_terms § Japanese pronunciation 4.

Etymology 7

Kanji in this term
一
はじめ Grade: 1
nanori

From 始め (hajime, “beginning, first”), the 連用形 (ren'yōkei, “stem or continuative form”) of verb 始める (hajimeru, “to begin something”).

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) はじめ [hàjímé] (Heiban – [0])
• IPA^(key): [ha̠ʑime̞]

Proper noun

一(はじめ) • (Hajime) 

1. a unisex given name
2. a surname

Coordinate terms

Japanese numbers
	0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
Regular	零(れい) (rei) 零(ゼロ) (zero)	一(いち) (ichi)	二(に) (ni)	三(さん) (san)	四(よん) (yon) 四(し) (shi)	五(ご) (go)	六(ろく) (roku)	七(なな) (nana) 七(しち) (shichi)	八(はち) (hachi)	九(きゅう) (kyū) 九(く) (ku)	十(じゅう) (jū)
Formal		壱(いち) (ichi)	弐(に) (ni)	参(さん) (san)							拾(じゅう) (jū)
	90	100	300	600	800	1,000	3,000	8,000	10,000	100,000,000
Regular	九(きゅう)十(じゅう) (kyūjū)	百(ひゃく) (hyaku) 一(いっ)百(ぴゃく) (ippyaku)	三(さん)百(びゃく) (sanbyaku)	六(ろっ)百(ぴゃく) (roppyaku)	八(はっ)百(ぴゃく) (happyaku)	千(せん) (sen) 一(いっ)千(せん) (issen)	三(さん)千(ぜん) (sanzen)	八(はっ)千(せん) (hassen)	一(いち)万(まん) (ichiman)	一(いち)億(おく) (ichioku)
Formal									一(いち)萬(まん) (ichiman)
	1012	8×1012	1013	1016	6×1016	8×1016	1017	1018
	一(いっ)兆(ちょう) (itchō)	八(はっ)兆(ちょう) (hatchō)	十(じゅっ)兆(ちょう) (jutchō)	一(いっ)京(けい) (ikkei)	六(ろっ)京(けい) (rokkei)	八(はっ)京(けい) (hakkei)	十(じゅっ)京(けい) (jukkei)	百(ひゃっ)京(けい) (hyakkei)

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Korean

Korean numbers ^(edit)

	10
[a], [b] ←  0	1	2  →
Native isol.: 하나 (hana)     Native attr.: 한 (han)     Sino-Korean: 일 (il)     Hanja: 一     Ordinal: 첫째 (cheotjjae)

Etymology

From Middle Chinese 一 (MC ʔiɪt̚).

Historical Readings
Dongguk Jeongun Reading
Dongguk Jeongun, 1448	ᅙᅵᇙ〮 (Yale: qílq)
Middle Korean
Text	Eumhun
	Gloss (hun)	Reading
Hunmong Jahoe, 1527[2]	ᄒᆞᆫ〮 (Yale: hón)	일〮 (Yale: íl)

Pronunciation

• (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA^(key): [iɭ]
• Phonetic hangul: [일]

Hanja

Wikisource

一 (eumhun 한 일 (han il))

1. Hanja form^? of 일 (“one”).

Compounds

See 一/derived_terms § Korean.

References

• 국제퇴계학회 대구경북지부 (國際退溪學會 大邱慶北支部) (2007). Digital Hanja Dictionary, 전자사전／電子字典. [3]

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Vietnamese

Han character

一: Hán Việt readings: nhất, nhứt
一: Nôm readings: nhất, nhắt, nhứt

1. chữ Hán form of nhất (“one”).
2. Nôm form of nhất (“first; most”).
3. Nôm form of nhắt (“teeny; tiny”).

Compounds

See 一/derived_terms § Vietnamese.