音 (yīn) · sound; tone; note

Meanings

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

Examples

HSK 3

她的声音很好听。

Tā de shēngyīn hěn hǎotīng.

Her voice sounds very nice.

HSK 3

这个字的发音怎么读？

Zhège zì de fāyīn zěnme dú?

How do you pronounce this character?

HSK 4

音乐让我放松。

Yīnyuè ràng wǒ fàngsōng.

Music helps me relax.

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.