<p>伊 was used as 3rd person reference in ancient written Chinese.</p>
<p>In the beginning, it is equivalent to 他. But later on when Western books are translated into Chinese, sometimes &quot;he&quot; and &quot;she&quot; are confusing. The translator 郭赞生 suggested in his translation of a grammar book《文法初阶》that &quot;he&quot; should be translated as 他 and &quot;she&quot; translated as 伊. This is also guidance for original writings. The most famous literature that adopted this idea is from 鲁迅.</p>
<p>But later on, 刘半农（some say 钱玄同) introduced the character 她 which is used now in modern Chinese. The advantage of 她 over 伊 is that Chinese spoken language do not have a different pronunciation for different genders, so it is better to have the same pronunciation for all three 他 / 她 / 它, even though they are written down as different characters.</p>
<p>As a result, even though 伊 is not used now, it is still female related.</p>
<p>Reference: <a href="http://news.sina.com.cn/o/2005-07-26/04596526559s.shtml?from=wap" rel="nofollow noreferrer">http://news.sina.com.cn/o/2005-07-26/04596526559s.shtml?from=wap</a></p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-07-15T05:39:55.050Z
I'm sorry but your reference is absolutely incorrect. 她 is not a new character invented by 劉半農. 她 is an old character meaning 姐 and has the same pronunciation as 姐. And here, 姐doesn't mean sister. It means mother. In short, 她=姐=母. See http://classic-blog.udn.com/junk200/2506345
joehua
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-07-15T14:07:08.650Z
@joehua Thanks, I changed "invent" to "introduce". I would also try to look for more reliable resources later.
River
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-07-15T03:52:59.777Z
2020-08-01T02:16:19.933Z
2020-08-01T02:16:19.933Z
River
<p>In Taiwan, according to dictionary owned by Ministry of Education.</p>
<p><a href="http://dict.revised.moe.edu.tw/cgi-bin/cbdic/gsweb.cgi?o=dcbdic&amp;searchid=W00000010508" rel="nofollow noreferrer">伊</a> means:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>第三人稱代名詞，相當於「彼」、「他」。</p>
</blockquote>
<p>(Third person pronoun same as 彼, 他(him).)</p>
<blockquote>
<p>第二人稱代名詞，相當於「你」。</p>
</blockquote>
<p>(Second person pronoun same as 你(you).)</p>
<blockquote>
<p>表示肯定，相當於「是」。</p>
</blockquote>
<p>(Use to denote affirmation same as 是.)</p>
<blockquote>
<p>發語詞，無義。</p>
</blockquote>
<p>(Words used to begin talking, no meaning.)</p>
<blockquote>
<p>文言助詞，表示「剛剛」的意思。</p>
</blockquote>
<p>(助詞 of Classic Mandarin used to express just(there was not much time passed only a little time passed.))</p>
<blockquote>
<p>姓。</p>
</blockquote>
<p>(Surname.)</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-07-15T10:11:50.253Z
2020-07-15T10:11:50.253Z
000
<p>Generally, &quot;伊&quot; means he/she.</p>
<p>There is such an ancient poem &quot;所谓伊人，在水一方&quot;, which means &quot;My sweetheart, she is far away&quot;. In this sentence, &quot;伊人&quot; means &quot;that lady&quot;. It is often used to represent the lady you admire or love.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-07-15T02:58:02.317Z
2020-07-15T03:09:58.863Z
2020-07-15T03:09:58.863Z
大陸北方網友
<p>there are some useful meanings of it:</p>
<ol>
<li>means her/him.(usually describe as female)</li>
</ol>
<blockquote>
<p>薛蟠因<strong>伊</strong>倔强，将酒照脸泼去。——《红楼梦》<br />
伊：the person mentioned above.</p>
</blockquote>
<ol start="2">
<li>means something far from us.</li>
</ol>
<blockquote>
<p>所谓<strong>伊人</strong>，在水一方。——《蒹葭》<br />
伊人: my sweetheart.</p>
</blockquote>
<ol start="3">
<li>means somebody that you're talking with.</li>
</ol>
<blockquote>
<p>勿学汝兄，汝兄自不如<strong>伊</strong>。——《世说新语》<br />
伊: you.</p>
</blockquote>
<ol start="4">
<li>surname</li>
</ol>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-07-16T10:26:50.643Z
2020-07-16T10:26:50.643Z
nether End
<p>I know it’s often used in old script and such, but there aren’t many other uses. I was always told that my Chinese name meant light/beautiful girl, but I haven’t found anything pointing to that specific definition.</p>
<p>I kind of get it with the radicals especially in 姜, but I don’t know much about 伊 or even Chinese culture. For all I know it’s like “John” or “Emma” and has a forgotten meaning, or none at all.</p>
<p>I’ve just started learning Mandarin, so I thought getting to know my name, 姜伊, would be cool :)</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-07-17T00:27:53.707Z
Comments are not for extended discussion; this conversation has been [moved to chat](https://chat.stackexchange.com/rooms/110721/discussion-on-question-by-beep-does--have-any-special-meaning).
Becky 李蓓
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-08-01T10:08:51.190Z
You'd be surprised how many old pronouns are still used today. Just as how lawyers like to use obfuscated/old words in law terms, I heard that some lawyers in Hong Kong like to do this as much, using 伊, 渠 and all the other obscure pronouns to sound smart and formal.
Daniel Cheung
<meaning><characters>
Does 伊 have any special meaning?
# Does 伊 have any special meaning?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2020-07-15)

I know it’s often used in old script and such, but there aren’t many other uses. I was always told that my Chinese name meant light/beautiful girl, but I haven’t found anything pointing to that specific definition.

I kind of get it with the radicals especially in 姜, but I don’t know much about 伊 or even Chinese culture. For all I know it’s like “John” or “Emma” and has a forgotten meaning, or none at all.

I’ve just started learning Mandarin, so I thought getting to know my name, 姜伊, would be cool :)

**Tags:** meaning, characters

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Comments are not for extended discussion; this conversation has been [moved to chat](https://chat.stackexchange.com/rooms/110721/discussion-on-question-by-username_0-does--have-any-special-meaning).  
> **username_2**: You'd be surprised how many old pronouns are still used today. Just as how lawyers like to use obfuscated/old words in law terms, I heard that some lawyers in Hong Kong like to do this as much, using 伊, 渠 and all the other obscure pronouns to sound smart and formal.  

---

## 4 answers

### Answer by username_3 on 2020-07-15. Score: 2

伊 was used as 3rd person reference in ancient written Chinese.

In the beginning, it is equivalent to 他. But later on when Western books are translated into Chinese, sometimes "he" and "she" are confusing. The translator 郭赞生 suggested in his translation of a grammar book《文法初阶》that "he" should be translated as 他 and "she" translated as 伊. This is also guidance for original writings. The most famous literature that adopted this idea is from 鲁迅.

But later on, 刘半农（some say 钱玄同) introduced the character 她 which is used now in modern Chinese. The advantage of 她 over 伊 is that Chinese spoken language do not have a different pronunciation for different genders, so it is better to have the same pronunciation for all three 他 / 她 / 它, even though they are written down as different characters.

As a result, even though 伊 is not used now, it is still female related.

Reference: <http://news.sina.com.cn/o/2005-07-26/04596526559s.shtml?from=wap>

> **Comments:**
> **username_4**: I'm sorry but your reference is absolutely incorrect. 她 is not a new character invented by 劉半農. 她 is an old character meaning 姐 and has the same pronunciation as 姐. And here, 姐doesn't mean sister. It means mother. In short, 她=姐=母. See http://classic-blog.udn.com/junk200/2506345  
> **username_3**: @username_4 Thanks, I changed "invent" to "introduce". I would also try to look for more reliable resources later.  

---

### Answer by username_5 on 2020-07-15. Score: 1

In Taiwan, according to dictionary owned by Ministry of Education.

[伊](http://dict.revised.moe.edu.tw/cgi-bin/cbdic/gsweb.cgi?o=dcbdic&searchid=W00000010508) means:

> 第三人稱代名詞，相當於「彼」、「他」。

(Third person pronoun same as 彼, 他(him).)

> 第二人稱代名詞，相當於「你」。

(Second person pronoun same as 你(you).)

> 表示肯定，相當於「是」。

(Use to denote affirmation same as 是.)

> 發語詞，無義。

(Words used to begin talking, no meaning.)

> 文言助詞，表示「剛剛」的意思。

(助詞 of Classic Mandarin used to express just(there was not much time passed only a little time passed.))

> 姓。

(Surname.)


---

### Answer by username_6 on 2020-07-15. Score: 1

Generally, "伊" means he/she.

There is such an ancient poem "所谓伊人，在水一方", which means "My sweetheart, she is far away". In this sentence, "伊人" means "that lady". It is often used to represent the lady you admire or love.


---

### Answer by username_7 on 2020-07-16. Score: 0

there are some useful meanings of it:

1. means her/him.(usually describe as female)

> 薛蟠因**伊**倔强，将酒照脸泼去。——《红楼梦》  
> 伊：the person mentioned above.

2. means something far from us.

> 所谓**伊人**，在水一方。——《蒹葭》  
> 伊人: my sweetheart.

3. means somebody that you're talking with.

> 勿学汝兄，汝兄自不如**伊**。——《世说新语》  
> 伊: you.

4. surname


---

