耶

yē
#1,172 most
frequent character
(phonetic ye)

Character breakdown

Source: Make Me a Hanzi.

耶 has 耳, once the sound part 牙 but changed to distinguish it from 邪. The other part means city or area, so the first meaning was 'place name.' Read yé, it was borrowed for its sound to mean 'father' and then 'male.' Read yē, it is also used for its sound in transliterations.

耶 as a component in other characters

sound3 characters
椰揶倻

Ask DeepSeek

Same Characters, Different Readings

耶yé
interrogative particle (classical)
耶ye
final particle indicating enthusiasm etc

Your word lists

Sign in to add this word to your private lists.