yin
Translingual
Symbol
yin
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)
- (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
Translations
essential female principle
Etymology 2
From ān. Doublet of yan, yen, ane and one.
Numeral
yin
Anagrams
Aromanian
Alternative forms
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)
- 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)
Derived terms
See also
Finnish
Noun
yin
- instructive plural of yy
Anagrams
French
Etymology
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /jin/
- Rhymes: -jin
Noun
yin m (usually uncountable, plural yins)
Further reading
- “yin”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
Mandarin
Romanization
yin
- nonstandard spelling of yīn
- nonstandard spelling of yín
- nonstandard spelling of yǐn
- 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)
- alternative form of þin (“thy”)
Pronoun
yin (subjective þou)
- (chiefly Northern and northern East Midland dialectal) alternative form of þin (“thine”)
Spanish
Noun
yin m (plural yines)
- 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], 10 December 2024
Yoruba
Alternative forms
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /jĩ́/
Determiner
yín
- your (second-person plural or honorific possessive pronoun)
See also
| singular | plural or honorific | |
|---|---|---|
| 1st person | mi | wa |
| 2nd person | (r)ẹ | yín |
| 3rd person | (r)ẹ̀ | wọn |
Pronoun
yín
- you (second-person plural object pronoun)
See also
| subject | object1 | emphatic | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| affirmative | negative | ||||
| singular | 1st person | mo | n̄ / mi | mi | èmi |
| 2nd person | o | ọ / ẹ | ìwọ | ||
| 3rd person | ó | [pronoun dropped] | [preceding vowel repeated for monosyllabic verbs] / ẹ̀ | òun | |
| plural | 1st person | a | wa | àwa | |
| 2nd person | ẹ | yín | ẹ̀yin | ||
| 3rd person | wọ́n | wọn | wọn | àwọn | |
1 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.