吟 (yín) · to chant, to recite, to intone

Meanings

1 to chant
2 to recite
3 to intone
4 verse (in poem titles)

Characters

吟

yín

to chant; to recite

Examples

HSK 5

他在月下吟诗。

Tā zài yuè xià yínshī.

He recited poetry under the moonlight.

HSK 7-9

老师带我们吟诵古诗。

Lǎoshī dài wǒmen yínsòng gǔshī.

The teacher led us in chanting classical poems.

Tips

culture

吟 often appears in titles of classical Chinese poems, like 白居易's 长恨歌 or 李白's works. 吟诗 (to chant poetry) is a quintessential image of Chinese literati.

memory

口 (mouth) + 今 (now) = the sound coming from a mouth right now - chanting or reciting aloud.

Components

radical

口 kǒu

mouth

Left mouth radical - the indexing radical, an open square that anchors 吟 in the vocalisation family with 唱 to sing, 哼 to hum, 咏 to recite, 叹 to sigh. Here it captures the breath-driven act of chanting or murmuring verse aloud, the characteristic recital style of classical Chinese poetry.

phonetic

今 jīn

now

Right 今 supplies the sound, drifting from jīn to yín along the j-/y- palatal series. The 'now' sense plays no part; pure sound peg. Same phonetic powers 念 to recite, 含 to hold in the mouth, 琴 zither, 阴 shade - several have faint resonance with 吟 around held breath and soft sound.