以
yǐ
abbr. for Israel 以色列[Yi3 se4 lie4]
to use; by means of; according to; in order to; because of; at (a certain date or place)
以 — the 'by means of / in order to' function word
Originally depicted a person holding a tool or implement, giving the sense of 'using' something by hand. Over time it was grammaticalized into a versatile function word covering means, reason, and purpose.
Words with 以
所以
suǒ yǐ
therefore
所以然
suǒ yǐ rán
the reason why
医之好治不病以为功
yī zhī hào zhì bù bìng yǐ wéi gōng
doctors like to treat those who are not sick so that they can get credit for the patient's "recovery" (idiom)
长久以来
cháng jiǔ yǐ lái
for a long time now; long since
长期以来
cháng qī yǐ lái
for a long time
除以
chú yǐ
(math.) divided by
难以
nán yǐ
hard to (predict, imagine etc)
难以启齿
nán yǐ qǐ chǐ
to be too embarrassed to mention sth (idiom)
难以实现
nán yǐ shí xiàn
hard to accomplish
难以忍受
nán yǐ rěn shòu
hard to endure
难以应付
nán yǐ yìng fù
hard to deal with
难以捉摸
nán yǐ zhuō mō
elusive