音

yīn

日 + 立

Definitions

yīn (noun) sound; noise

yīn (noun) musical note; tone

yīn (noun) news; information

Etymology

Originally the same as 言 (speech) but with an extra line added in the mouth (口) to distinguish the two characters.

About

Originally identical to 言 (speech), 音 is distinguished by an extra line added inside the 口 (mouth) component, shifting the focus to sound production itself. The character captures acoustic phenomena, vocal or instrumental resonance, rather than linguistic meaning. It denotes sound, musical tone, and pronunciation, and forms the basis for many compound words in music, acoustics, phonetics, and audio technology.

Etymology Hide

Bronze etymology image

Bronze Qin dynasty (221-206 BC)

Bronze etymology image

Bronze Late Spring and Autumn (~500 BC)

Bronze etymology image

Bronze Early Warring States (~400 BC)

Seal etymology image

Seal Chu (Warring States: 475-221 BC)

Seal etymology image

Seal Chu (Warring States: 475-221 BC)

Seal etymology image

Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)

Clerical etymology image

Clerical Qin dynasty (221-206 BC)

Clerical etymology image

Clerical Western Han dynasty (202 BC-9 AD)

Clerical etymology image

Clerical Western Han dynasty (202 BC-9 AD)

Clerical etymology image

Clerical Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)

Traditional Modern

Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

音乐让我感到快乐。

Yīnyuè ràng wǒ gǎndào kuàilè.

Music makes me feel happy.

我听到了奇怪的声音。

Wǒ tīng dào le qíguài de shēngyīn.

I heard a strange sound.

请把音乐的音量调小一点。

Qǐng bǎ yīnyuè de yīnliàng tiáo xiǎo yīdiǎn.

Please turn down the volume of the music.

她的发音非常标准清晰。

Tā de fāyīn fēichāng biāozhǔn qīngxī.

Her pronunciation is very standard and clear.

这段录音记录了重要的会议内容。

Zhè duàn lùyīn jìlù le zhòngyào de huìyì nèiróng.

This recording captured the important content of the meeting.

手机收到了新消息的提示音。

Shǒujī shōu dào le xīn xiāoxi de tíshì yīn.

The phone received a notification sound for a new message.

他对古典音乐有很深的研究。

Tā duì gǔdiǎn yīnyuè yǒu hěn shēn de yánjiū.

He has a deep study of classical music.

山谷里回荡着悠扬的笛音。

Shāngǔ lǐ huídàng zhe yōuyáng de dí yīn.

The melodious sound of the flute echoed in the valley.

Related Characters

Composed characters:

Component: 日

Component: 立

Example Words