yìn / yīn
noun #26,697

Meanings

  1. 1 shady and cool
  2. 2 to shelter; to shield
  3. 3 protection inherited from an ancestor's merit

Examples

Fángzi hòumiàn yǒu yī xiǎo kuài yìnliáng de dì.
There is a small patch of shaded, cool ground behind the house.
Qiánrén zhòng shù, hòurén xiǎngshòu xiānbèi liú xià de yìnbì.
One generation plants the trees, the next enjoys the shelter left to them.

Tips

usage
This yìn reading covers 'shady and cool' and the figurative 'to shelter or shield': 荫凉, 荫蔽, 荫庇. For plain tree shade the character is read yīn (树荫).
history
In imperial China, named the privilege of inheriting official rank because of an ancestor's merit, called 恩荫. It let high officials' descendants enter office or study without the usual examinations.

Stroke Order

yìn