异

Tap the pinyin to hear it

different; other; hetero-; unusual; strange; surprising; to distinguish; to separate; to discriminate

Formation & memory

Break the character into parts you already know.

Ideographic compound (会意字)

Simplified form of 異; a person 共 with a scary face田

Components 巳廾

different · Heisig RSH #616

snakeskin + two hands

Keyword method from Heisig's Remembering Simplified Hanzi.

The most common words first — learning a character in context makes it stick.

Word	Pinyin	Meaning
大同小异	dà tóng xiǎo yì	virtually the same; differing only on small points
特异性	tè yì xìng	specific; specificity; idiosyncrasy
异化作用	yì huà zuò yòng	catabolism (biology); metabolic breaking down and waste disposal; dissimilation
异星人	yì xīng rén	space alien; extraterrestrial
异体字	yì tǐ zì	variant Chinese character
异特龙	yì tè lóng	allosaurus
异人	yì rén	eccentric; unusual person; talented individual
异国情调	yì guó qíng diào	exoticism; local color; exotic
异国	yì guó	exotic; foreign
日新月异	rì xīn yuè yì	daily renewal, monthly change (idiom); every day sees new developments; rapid progress
异心	yì xīn	disloyalty; infidelity
异病同治	yì bìng tóng zhì	to use the same method to treat different diseases (TCM)
无异	wú yì	nothing other than; to differ in no way from; the same as; to amount to
异地	yì dì	different place; abroad
异口同声	yì kǒu tóng shēng	different mouths, same voice; to speak in unison (idiom)
异性	yì xìng	the opposite sex; of the opposite sex; heterosexual; different in nature
异动	yì dòng	to shift; to alter; unusual change; abnormal move
异化	yì huà	alienation (philosophy); (of speech) dissimilation
异体	yì tǐ	variant form (of a Chinese character)
分异	fēn yì	distinction; differentiation