yin

See also yīn, yín, yǐn, and yìn

English

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -ɪn

Etymology 1

From Chinese trad. 陰, simpl. 阴 (pinyin: yīn)

Noun

yin (plural yins)

1. The essential female principle in some Eastern religions and philosophies.

Antonyms

• yang

Related terms

• yin-yang

Translations

essential female principle

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 陰 (cmn), 阴 (cmn) (yīn)

• Japanese: 陰 (ja) (いん, in)

• Korean: 음 (ko) (eum) (陰 (ko))
• Russian: инь (ru) (in') f and n 
• Vietnamese: âm (vi) (陰 (vi))

Etymology 2

From ān. Cognate with yan, yen, ane and one.

Numeral

yin

1. The number one, primarily used in Scotland and Ulster

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Aromanian

Alternative forms

• vin, yinu, vinu

Etymology 1

From Latin veniō. Compare Daco-Romanian veni, vin.

Verb

yin (third-person singular present indicative yini/yine, past participle vinitã/vinjitã)

1. I come.

Related terms

• yinire/yiniri, yinire/yiniri
• vinit/vinjit

Etymology 2

From Latin vinum. Compare Daco-Romanian vin.

Alternative forms

• vin

Noun

yin

1. wine

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French

Etymology

Sinitic 陰 (yin)

Noun

yin m

1. (singular only) yin

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Mandarin

Romanization

yin

1. Nonstandard spelling of yīn.
2. Nonstandard spelling of yín.
3. Nonstandard spelling of yǐn.
4. Nonstandard spelling of yìn.

Usage notes

English transcriptions of Chinese speech often fail to distinguish between the critical tonal differences employed in the Chinese language, using words such as this one without the appropriate indication of tone.