Pinyin Syllable
Chinese characters pronounced yin
Learn common Chinese characters pronounced yin, including 因 yīn, 引 yǐn, 音 yīn, 印 yìn, 银 yín. Compare tones, meanings, traditional forms, words…
How to Pronounce This Syllable
yin is a whole syllable: a clear “ee” closed off with a light -n, said in one piece.
Initial y
Start the syllable on the initial y, then run straight into the final in — keep them joined instead of sounding out separate English letters.
Final in
Settle the final in into a steady mouth shape first, then lay the tone on top.
Study Tip
Start with the most common characters (因 yīn, 引 yǐn, 音 yīn, 印 yìn, 银 yín) and lock in their tones. 12 common characters share the sound yin, so lean on words to tell the rest apart.
Learn by Tone
yin turns up here with 4 different tones; a change of tone usually means a different character, so the groups below are split by tone.
1st tone
Taking the 1st tone here: 因, 音, 阴… (5 in total). Lock this tone in your ear before the meaning.
2nd tone
Taking the 2nd tone here: 银, 吟, 淫 (3 in total). Lock this tone in your ear before the meaning.
3rd tone
Taking the 3rd tone here: 引, 隐, 饮 (3 in total). Lock this tone in your ear before the meaning.
4th tone
Taking the 4th tone here: 印 (1 in total). Lock this tone in your ear before the meaning.
Common Words With This Sound
Seeing yin inside whole words makes it clear which character is meant — here are common ones.
Characters
12 common characters in this group.