Chinese Tattoo 义: Meaning, Strokes & Design Guide
The character 义 means "right conduct, righteousness" and is pronounced yì. Below: its structure, the words it appears in, and how it works as a tattoo.
Quick facts
| Character | 义 |
| Pinyin | yì |
| Meaning | right conduct, righteousness |
| Strokes | 3 |
| Radical | ⼂ (No. 3) |
Words that contain 义
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 意义 | yì yì | sense | newest-5 |
| 主义 | zhǔ yì | -ism | newest-7 |
| 义务 | yì wù | duty | newest-5 |
| 正义 | zhèng yì | justice | newest-6 |
| 名义 | míng yì | name | newest-7 |
| 定义 | dìng yì | definition | newest-6 |
Words and levels: HSK vocabulary list · meanings: CC-CEDICT.
Placing 义
义 is only 3 strokes, so it stays readable even small — but a simple character shows every wobble. There is nowhere to hide a shaky line here, so line weight and steady spacing matter more than with a dense character. Bring the stencil together with the pinyin and the meaning, and ask the artist to follow the stencil rather than redrawing the character freehand — freehand redrawing is the most common way a correct character loses a stroke and becomes a different one.
Design notes for 义
义 appears both on its own and inside compounds, so the sense depends on context; here it reads “right conduct, righteousness”. Regular script (楷书) keeps every stroke countable, which matters when a Chinese reader checks it. Avoid mirroring or rotating the character, and avoid very fine or cursive styles at small sizes, where strokes merge into a shape that reads as a different character.
Frequently asked questions
What does 义 mean?
义 (yì) means “right conduct, righteousness”.
How is 义 pronounced?
义 is pronounced yì in Mandarin.
How many strokes does 义 have?
义 has 3 strokes, under the ⼂ radical (No. 3).
How large should a 义 tattoo be?
With 3 strokes, 义 is open and holds detail well even at small sizes.
Which style works for 义?
Bold regular script (楷书) keeps the strokes clear. Semi-cursive (行书) adds flow but softens edges. Seal script looks classical but is harder for most readers to verify — use it only if a native reader has confirmed the rendering.
Is 义 common in modern Chinese?
It appears in everyday words such as 意义、主义、义务, though it is more often used inside compounds than alone.
Should I use simplified or traditional 义?
义 is written the same in simplified and traditional Chinese, so there is no form to choose.
Want 义 as a ready-to-use stencil with a native-checked meaning card, sized for your tattoo artist?
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Character data: Unihan (Unicode) · words: HSK vocabulary & CC-CEDICT · How we verify this