yin

See also: Yin, yín, yìn, yīn, yǐn, þin, and þín

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /jɪn/

  • Audio (Southern England):

    (file)

• Rhymes: -ɪn

Etymology 1

From early romanizations of Chinese 陰／阴 (yīn), originally used in reference to shaded areas, as of a mountain or home.

Noun

yin (uncountable)

1. (philosophy) A principle in Chinese and related East Asian philosophies associated with dark, cool, female, etc. elements of the natural world.
   • 1956, Anthony Burgess, Time for a Tiger (The Malayan Trilogy), published 1972, page 187:

     "Steamed fish and chicken and vegetable soup and even mushrooms are considered cooling foods, edible materializations of the yang, the pure primal air. The yin, or earth element, inheres in fried dishes and especially in shark's fin soup. Am I right, Mr Lee?"

   • 2017 January 8, Leslie Hsu Oh, “I tried the Chinese practice of ‘sitting the month’ after childbirth”, in The Washington Post‎^[1], →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 08 January 2017, Health & Science‎^[2]:

     According to traditional Chinese medicine, blood carries chi, your “life force,” which fuels all the functions of the body. When you lose blood, you lose chi, and this causes your body to go into a state of yin (cold). When yin (cold) and yang (hot) are out of balance, your body will suffer physical disorders.

   • 2023 November 1, Katie Hopkins, “Transitions & Remembrances”, in Align & Spiral‎^[3] (Blog), archived from the original on 01 February 2024, Belief & Body Blog‎^[4]:

     In ancient Chinese philosophy, the opposing forces of Yin (passive, feminine, night) and Yang (active, masculine, sun) balance life. […]
     As we turn towards darker days (from November 1st until the winter solstice's darkest night on December 21st), we have a chance to turn inward for reflection. We enter a Yin phase.

Related terms

• (complement): yang
• (unity): yin-yang

Translations

essential female principle

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 陰 / 阴 (zh) (yīn)

• German: Yin (de) n
• Hungarian: jin (hu)
• Japanese: 陰 (ja) (いん, in)
• Korean: 음(陰) (ko) (eum)
• Manchu: ᡝ (e)
• Persian: یین (yin)
• Russian: инь (ru) f or n (inʹ)
• Swedish: yin
• Vietnamese: âm (vi) (陰)

Etymology 2

From ān. Doublet of yan, yen, ane and one.

Numeral

yin

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

Anagrams

• NYI

Aromanian

Alternative forms

• vin, yinu, vinu

Etymology 1

From Latin veniō. Compare Romanian veni, vin.

Verb

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

1. to come

Related terms

• yiniri / yinire, yinjiri / yinjire, viniri / vinire, vinjiri / vinjire
• vinit / vinjit, yinit / yinjit

Etymology 2

From Latin vinum. Compare Romanian vin.

Alternative forms

• yinu, vin

Noun

yin n (plural yinuri)

1. wine

Derived terms

• yinar

See also

• ayinji / yinji
• ayitã / yitã

Finnish

Noun

yin

1. instructive plural of yy

Anagrams

• nyi

French

Etymology

From Mandarin 陰／阴 (yīn).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /jin/
• Rhymes: -jin

Noun

yin m (usually uncountable, plural yins)

1. yin

Further reading

• “yin”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

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

• Transcriptions of Mandarin into the Latin script often do not distinguish between the critical tonal differences employed in the Mandarin language, using words such as this one without indication of tone.

Middle English

Determiner

yin (subjective pronoun þou)

1. Alternative form of þin (“thy”)

Pronoun

yin (subjective þou)

1. (chiefly Northern and northern East Midland dialectal) Alternative form of þin (“thine”)

Spanish

Noun

yin m (plural yines)

1. Alternative form of djinn

Further reading

• “yin”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10

Yoruba

Alternative forms

• rin, rin-ín (Ekiti, Ijesha)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /jĩ́/

Determiner

yín

1. your (second-person plural or honorific possessive pronoun)

See also

Yoruba possessive pronouns

	singular	plural or honorific
1st person	mi	wa
2nd person	(r)ẹ	yín
3rd person	(r)ẹ̀	wọn

Pronoun

yín

1. you (second-person plural object pronoun)

See also

Affirmative subject pronouns

	singular	plural or honorific
1st person	mo	a
2nd person	o	ẹ
3rd person	ó	wọ́n

Negative subject pronouns

	singular	plural or honorific
1st person	mi / n	a
2nd person	o	ẹ
3rd person	[pronoun dropped]	wọn

Object pronouns

	singular	plural or honorific
1st person	mi	wa
2nd person	ọ / ẹ	yín
3rd person	[preceding vowel repeated for monosyllabic verbs] / ẹ̀	wọn

Note: except for yín, object pronouns have a high tone following a low or mid tone monosyllabic verb, and a mid tone following a high tone. For complex verbs, the tone does not change.

Emphatic pronouns

	singular	plural or honorific
1st person	èmi	àwa
2nd person	ìwọ	ẹ̀yin
3rd person	òun	àwọn