ZHIZHI 知止 · LEARN CHINESE DAILY

cloudy; yin; shade

yīn
6 strokes · 阝 (hill radical) + 月 (moon) — the moon side of the hill · HSK 2

Where 阴 comes from

阴 is the hill 阝 with the moon 月: the northern slope where sun never lands. Its twin 阳 carries the sun. Every Chinese hill has an 阴 face and an 阳 face — and from those two slopes came the cosmology of yin and yang.

阴 in Chinese culture

阴天 is an overcast day. 阴阳 yin-yang divides everything: moon/sun, cold/hot, quiet/loud, the two interlocked commas of the taiji symbol. Place names remember the geography: 江阴 sits on a river's shaded south bank.

Example

阴天 yīntiān — overcast day

昨天是阴天,很冷。
Zuótiān shì yīntiān, hěn lěng.
Yesterday was overcast and cold.

How to remember it

Moon 月 side of the hill 阝 — SHADED, CLOUDY, YIN.

阴 also guards the underworld: 阴间 is the realm of the dead, patrolled by 阴差 — ghost constables. The weather report and the afterlife share a character.

Same sound, different tones

1st yīn
cloudy; yin
2nd yín
silver
3rd yǐn
to drink
4th yìn
to print

Words unlocked by 阴

阴天 yīntiān
overcast day
阴阳 yīnyáng
yin and yang

Related characters

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