HSK 6 · Verbs

依赖 yīlài “to depend on” in Chinese

Traditional 依賴

What 依赖 means

  1. to depend on
  2. dependent
  3. to be dependent on

How to say 依赖

  • Pitch chart of the first tone: stays high and level, 5 to 5 on the five-level scale依yī1st tone, high and level
  • Pitch chart of the fourth tone: falls from high to low, 5 to 1 on the five-level scale赖lài4th tone, falling

依赖 in a sentence

  1. 他非常诚实，所以我们可以依赖他。

    Tā fēicháng chéngshí, suǒyǐ wǒmen kěyǐ yīlài tā.

    He’s very honest, so we can rely on him.

    Sentence #2335942 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

  2. 不要太过于依赖别人。

    Búyào tài guòyú yīlài biéren.

    Don’t depend too much on others.

    Sentence #444711 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

  3. 她婚后仍然依赖父母。

    Tā hūnhòu réngrán yīlài fùmǔ.

    She still depends on her parents even after getting married.

    Sentence #461633 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

How 依赖 is built

Each colour is one part of the character. Parts repeat across thousands of characters, so learning them makes new words easier. See all 214 in our radicals chart.

The character 依 (yī) with each of its parts in a different colour
依yīto depend on
  • 亻person form of 人 · rénMeaning part
  • 衣clothes · yīSound part

亻 hints at the meaning (person); 衣 (yī) hints at the sound. Compare it with yī.

The character 赖 (lài) with each of its parts in a different colour
赖làito depend on
  • 剌to slash · làSound part
  • 贝sea shell · bèiMeaning part

贝 hints at the meaning (sea shell); 剌 (là) hints at the sound. Compare it with lài.

How to write 依赖

依 8 strokes · 赖 13 strokes

Watch the order, then press Try writing it and draw each stroke in the grid. Each stroke is checked as you go.

依赖 (yīlài) stroke order chart: each stroke of the characters in the order you write them
Stroke order chart for 依赖 (yīlài). Red marks the next stroke, so you can copy it onto paper one step at a time.

Words related to 依赖

Words with 依

依然yīrán · still依靠yīkào · to rely on依托yītuō · to rely on依据yījù · basis依旧yījiù · as before

Words with 赖

无赖wúlài · rogue信赖xìnlài · to trust

More words: Common Verbs

压缩yāsuō · to compress压榨yāzhà · to squeeze压制yāzhì · to suppress依靠yīkào · to rely on遗留yíliú · to be left over引导yǐndǎo · to guide应邀yìngyāo · at someone’s invitation遗失yíshī · to lose (something)

FAQs

依赖 (yīlài) means “to depend on” or “dependent”. It is an HSK 6 word.
Say it yīlài: yī with a 1st tone, then lài with a 4th tone. Press Listen at the top of this page to hear it, or Slowly to hear each tone clearly.
In Traditional characters, used in Taiwan and Hong Kong, 依赖 is written 依賴. The pronunciation is the same.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type yilai with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 依赖 from the suggestions. Typing yilai into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
依赖 is an HSK 6 word in the HSK 2.0 word lists.

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Sources: meaning and pinyin checked by a native Mandarin teacher against the official HSK lists. Extra meanings from CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0). Example sentences from Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR). Character parts and stroke order from Make Me a Hanzi.