一概
yī gài · HSK 7
all
🧹 一 = one + 概 (general, to sweep together) → sweep it all into one, no exceptions
概 carries the sense of a general sweep or leveling. Pair it with 一 (one) and you get one-sweep-covers-all: treating every case the same way, categorically and without exception.
一 — single horizontal stroke
一 is one of the simplest pictographs in Chinese, depicting a single horizontal line to represent the number one. It has retained essentially the same form since oracle bone script over 3,000 years ago. By extension it also means 'first,' 'whole,' or 'same.'