Yǐn
proper noun #20,238

Meanings

  1. 1 Yin (Chinese surname)
  2. 2 (literary) governor, prefect, magistrate

Examples

Yǐn shì Zhōngguó yīgè lìshǐ yōujiǔ de xìngshì.
Yin is a Chinese surname with a long history.
Tā xìng Yǐn, míng Zǐ qí.
His surname is Yin, given name Ziqi.

Tips

culture
As a common noun (yǐn), was an ancient official title equivalent to a governor or prefect — seen in titles like (prefect of the capital region). Today it survives mainly as a surname.

Components

radical
shī
body; seated figure
The -shaped outer frame is the indexing Kangxi radical for . Originally depicted a hand holding a baton of authority; the graph was reanalyzed so its outline matched (seated official), placing it in the -radical lookup family alongside and .
ideograph
one; horizontal bar
The horizontal stroke through the middle represents the baton or staff of office held in the hand. This crossbar is the symbolic mark of authority that gives its meaning of 'governor, magistrate' in classical and surname use.

Stroke Order

Yǐn