Chinese symbol for “either”
也
yě
also; too; as well; (not ...) either; (used after a verbal or nominal expression X to indicate that X is an extreme or unexpected case) even (X); (literary) particle having functions similar to 啊 (a)
The closest CC-CEDICT match for either is 也 (yě), defined as: also; too; as well; (not ...) either; (used after a verbal or nominal expression X to indicate that X is an extreme or unexpected case) even (X); (literary) particle having functions similar to 啊 (a).
Before using these characters for a tattoo, check them with a native speaker. Dictionary words often have several meanings, and the right choice depends on context.
Characters and stroke order
Other Chinese words for “either”
Related words
Other words that share a character with 也.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 也许 (也許) | yě xǔ | perhaps; maybe |
| 再也 | zài yě | (not) ever again; (not) any longer |
| 也就是说 (也就是說) | yě jiù shì shuō | in other words; that is to say |
| 也好 | yě hǎo | that's fine; may as well |
| 也罢 (也罷) | yě bà | (reduplicated) whether... or...; never mind |
| 空空如也 | kōng kōng rú yě | as empty as anything (idiom); completely bereft; to have nothing |
See also: Japanese symbol for “either”.
Data: CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0); Unihan Database (Unicode License v3); Make Me a Hanzi (Arphic Public License (graphics.txt); LGPL-3.0-or-later (dictionary.txt)); wordfreq (CC BY-SA 4.0 (data)). Retrieved 2026-10-22.