Dong Chinese dictionary

yí

move, change place

Phonosemantic compound. 禾 represents the meaning and 多 represents the sound. Alludes to grain moving while it is blown by the wind.

Components

禾 Meaning component

hé

grain stalk

多 Sound component

duō

much

移 and 多 don't sound similar in modern Mandarin due to historical phonetic changes. They were more similar in older Chinese.移 /*laj/
多 /*[t.l]ˤaj/

Evolution

Seal script

Shuowen (~100 AD)

Clerical script

Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)

Regular script

Modern

Definitions

yí

change place, shift; move about; to move; to shift; to change; to alter; to remove

Most common words with 移

Sources