一

See also: ‐, – [U+2013 EN DASH], - [U+002D HYPHEN-MINUS], − [U+2212 MINUS SIGN], — [U+2014 EM DASH], ー [U+30FC KATAKANA-HIRAGANA PROLONGED SOUND MARK], 丨 [U+4E28 CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-4E28], ㄧ [U+3127 BOPOMOFO LETTER I], ㆪ [U+31AA BOPOMOFO LETTER INN], and 亠 [U+4EA0 CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-4EA0]

一	U+4E00, 一 CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-4E00

← ䷿
[U+4DFF]

CJK Unified Ideographs

丁 →
[U+4E01]

Wikimedia Commons has more media related to:

一

TranslingualEdit

Stroke order

Stroke order

Alternative formsEdit

⼀, ㆒, ㈠, ㊀, 〡

Han characterEdit

See images of
Radical 1 一

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

Kangxi radical #1, ⼀.
Shuōwén Jiězì radical №1

Derived charactersEdit

Index:Chinese_radical/一
𬂜, 𤕬, 𫜢, 㝉, 弌, 𬏚, 閂(闩)

Related charactersEdit

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

DescendantsEdit

ㄧ (Zhuyin alphabet)

ReferencesEdit

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

ChineseEdit

simp. and trad.		一
variant forms		壹 financial 弌

Wikipedia has an article on:

一

Glyph originEdit

Historical forms of the character 一

Shuowen Jiezi (compiled in Han)

Liushutong (compiled in Ming)

Bronze inscriptions

Oracle bone script

Bronze inscriptions

Chu Slip and silk script

Qin slip script

Ancient script

Small seal script

Transcribed ancient scripts

**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

A horizontal stroke, indicating the number one.

EtymologyEdit

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.).

In Min, an additional unrelated form is found and used as the colloquial reading for "one". Compare:

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”)), 隻 (< *tjak ~ g-t(j)ik) or 禃.

Some Fujian dialects use 個 and 寡 for "one".

PronunciationEdit

Mandarin
(Standard)
(Pinyin): yī (yi¹)

(Zhuyin): ㄧ

(Chengdu, SP): yi²

(Dungan, Cyrillic): йи (ji, I)
Cantonese
(Guangzhou, Jyutping): jat¹

(Taishan, Wiktionary): yit²
Gan (Wiktionary): it⁶
Hakka
(Sixian, PFS): yit

(Meixian, Guangdong): yid⁵
Jin (Wiktionary): ieh⁴
Min Bei (KCR): cì / ĭ
Min Dong (BUC): siŏh / ék
Min Nan
(Hokkien, POJ): chi̍t / it

(Teochew, Peng'im): zêg⁸ / ig⁴ / êg⁴
Wu (Wiktionary): iq (T4)
Xiang (Wiktionary): i⁶

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)⁺
  - Pinyin: yī
  - Zhuyin: ㄧ
  - Wade–Giles: i¹
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: i
  - 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
- IPA ^(key): /i²¹/
(Dungan)
- Cyrillic: йи (ji, I)
- IPA ^(key): /ʝiː²⁴/
(Note: Dungan pronunciation is currently experimental and may be inaccurate.)

Cantonese

(Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou)⁺
- Jyutping: jat¹
- Yale: yāt
- Cantonese Pinyin: jat⁷
- Guangdong Romanization: yed¹
- IPA ^(key): /jɐt̚⁵/
(Taishanese, Taicheng)
- Wiktionary: yit²
- IPA ^(key): /ʒit̚⁵⁵/

Gan

(Nanchang)
- Wiktionary: it⁶
- IPA ^(key): /it̚⁵/

Hakka

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

Jin

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

Min Bei

(Jian'ou)
- Kienning Colloquial Romanized: cì / ĭ
- IPA ^(key): /t͡si⁴²/, /i²⁴/

Note:

cì - colloquial;
ĭ - literary.

Min Dong

(Fuzhou)
- Bàng-uâ-cê: siŏh / ék
- IPA ^(key): /suoʔ⁵/, /ɛiʔ²⁴/

Note:

siŏh - colloquial;
ék - literary.

Min Nan

(Hokkien)
- Pe̍h-ōe-jī: chi̍t / it
- Tâi-lô: tsi̍t / it
- Phofsit Daibuun: cit, id
- IPA (Xiamen): /t͡ɕit̚⁴/, /it̚³²/
- IPA (Quanzhou): /t͡ɕit̚²⁴/, /it̚⁵/
- IPA (Zhangzhou): /t͡ɕit̚¹²¹/, /it̚³²/
- IPA (Taipei): /t͡ɕit̚⁴/, /it̚³²/
- IPA (Kaohsiung): /t͡ɕit̚⁴/, /it̚³²/

Note:

chi̍t - colloquial;
it - literary.

(Teochew)
- Peng'im: zêg⁸ / ig⁴ / êg⁴
- Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: tse̍k / ik / ek
- IPA ^(key): /t͡sek̚⁴/, /ik̚²/, /ek̚²/

Note:

zêg8 - colloquial;
ig4, êg4 - literary (ig4 - other places, êg4 - Jieyang).

Wu

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

Xiang

(Changsha)
- Wiktionary: i⁶
- IPA ^(key): /i²⁴/

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

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/

DefinitionsEdit

一

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
- 一左一右 ― yī zuǒ yī yòu ― one left, one right
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.
single; alone
- 獨自一人 / 独自一人 ― dúzì yī rén ― solitary
- 專一 / 专一 ― zhuānyī ― single-minded, loyal
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.
- 《一生不變》 / 《一生不变》 [Literary Cantonese] ― “jat¹ saang¹ bat¹ bin³” [Jyutping] ― "Unchanging Throughout a Lifetime" (a 1989 song by Hacken Lee)
same; identical
- 大小不一 ― dàxiǎo bù yī ― having different sizes
^† 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].
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
2. Indicating the intention to try.
  - 算一算 ― suàn yī suàn ― to try to calculate it
once; as soon as; upon
- 一到 OP 就卡 ― yī dào OP jiù kǎ ― it slows down once I get to the opening
- 我一開口，她就飛快的跑開了。 [MSC, trad.]
  我一开口，她就飞快的跑开了。 [MSC, simp.]
  From: 伍佰, 火山
  Wǒ yī kāikǒu, tā jiù fēikuài de pǎokāi le. [Pinyin]
  As soon as I opened my mouth, she ran away at the speed of light.
^† for the first time; at the beginning
- 一見如故 / 一见如故 [Cantonese] ― jat¹ gin³ jyu⁴ gu³ [Jyutping] ― to hit it off
^† surprisingly; unexpectedly
- 一至於此 / 一至于此 [Cantonese] ― jat¹ zi³ jyu¹ ci² [Jyutping] ― How did things ever get so far?
(LGBT, slang) top
alt. forms: 1

Usage notesEdit

Address of "one"

In Mandarin, when spelling a phone number, one on dice or dominoes, one is pronounced 幺 (yāo). This is similar to the English pronunciation of '0' as 'o' in strings of digits, such as 90210.

Tone sandhi

See pronunciation section for tone sandhi rules in Modern Standard Chinese.

In the Beijing dialect, there is a kind of tone sandhi in which 一 is pronounced as yí regardless of the succeeding tone (Tao, 2002):

Quotation

2000, 梁左 and 梁歡, 《閒人馬大姐》, episode 7, 18:30
那是一深夜 [Beijing Mandarin] ― nèi shì yī[yí] shēnyè [Pinyin] ― It was a late night

Such yí is grammatically different from other tone sandhis of 一; it is only used in the structure 一 + noun, and only in places where it can be replaced with 一個／一个 (yīge), from which it was reduced.

CompoundsEdit

Derived terms from 一

DescendantsEdit

Sino-Xenic (一):

→ Japanese: 一 (いち) (ichi); 一 (いつ) (itsu)
→ Korean: 일 (一, il)
→ Vietnamese: nhất (一)

Others:

→ Lao: ເອັດ (’et)
→ Thai: เอ็ด (èt)
→ Zhuang: it

ReferencesEdit

“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.

JapaneseEdit