音 (yīn): sound; tone; note

Meanings

1 sound; tone; note
2 music; pronunciation
3 news; information

Examples

她的声音很好听。

Tā de shēngyīn hěn hǎotīng.

Her voice sounds very nice.

音乐让我放松。

Yīnyuè ràngwǒ fàngsōng.

Music helps me relax.

这个字的发音怎么读？

Zhège zì de fāyīn zěnme dú?

How do you pronounce this character?

Tips

usage

音 is used in: 音乐 (music), 声音 (sound/voice), 发音 (pronunciation), 音响 (audio/stereo), 拼音 (pinyin). For language learners, 发音 and 拼音 are especially important words.

Components

ideograph

音 yīn

sound; tone; music

Indivisible nine-stroke self-radical (Kangxi #180). The 立+日 split visible in modern type is a graphic accident rather than the etymology — treat as a fused unit. Indexes 韵 rhyme, 韶 music, 章 chapter. Historically a variant of 言 (speech) with an extra horizontal inside the mouth marking sound.

Radical

Sound Kangxi #180

An indexing radical for sound, tone, and language. Built from 言 (speech) with an added horizontal stroke marking 'what comes from the mouth as note'. Compounds tend to involve melody, harmony, or rhythm: 韵, 韶, 章 historically. Less productive than 言 but appears at the heart of 音乐, 音响, 拼音.