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嘤 (yīng), the simplified form of 嚶, is an onomatopoeia for the gentle, rhythmic chirping of birds and occasionally the soft crying of animals or infants. A phono-semantic compound, its left component 口 (kǒu, 'mouth') indicates a vocal sound, while the right component 婴 (simplified from 嬰) gives the pronunciation yīng. Its most famous literary appearance is in the Classic of Poetry: the line 嘤其鸣矣 (yīng qí míng yǐ) describes birds calling out to find companions, lending 嘤 the metaphorical meaning of seeking like-minded friends or intellectual companionship.
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