字Study Chinese Characters
音

yīn sound

9 strokes

音 (yīn) is a Chinese character meaning “sound”. It is written from 立 (to stand; upright) and 日 (sun; day), one above the other, and takes 9 strokes.

Build the character for “sound”

Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.

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Learn this character

Structure

立 + 日

Top–bottom structure

  • 立 to stand; upright · lì unknown
  • 日 sun; day · rì unknown

Structure from: 现代字形拆分，对照 hanzi-writer 笔画数据核验（立 5 画 + 日 4 画 = 9 画）；仅记录今体构形，不代表历史来源

Memory aid

Stand up (立) above the sun (日) and let your voice carry — what travels out is sound. Both parts really are in this character, but this is a memory aid, not the historical origin.

This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.

Stroke order

9 strokes

In real words

  • 声音shēng yīnsound; voice音 = yīn
  • 音乐yīn yuèmusic音 = yīnHSK 1
  • 录音lù yīnto record sound; a recording音 = yīn
  • 拼音pīn yīnpinyin; phonetic spelling of Chinese音 = yīn
  • 谐音xié yīnhomophone; pun based on sound音 = yīn
Go deeper

All readings

yīn main reading

sound

sound; noise; tone; news

耳朵听到的声响；也指乐音、语音。 — studyhanzi 编写

Words with this reading

  • 声音shēng yīnsound; voice音 = yīn
  • 音乐yīn yuèmusic音 = yīnHSK 1
  • 录音lù yīnto record sound; a recording音 = yīn
  • 拼音pīn yīnpinyin; phonetic spelling of Chinese音 = yīn
  • 谐音xié yīnhomophone; pun based on sound音 = yīn

Other characters with these parts

立 → 位垃拉辛亲泣竖站

日 → 旦旧旨早旬旭旱时

Easy to confuse with

章意

Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions

Questions people ask about this character

What does 音 mean?

音 (yīn) means sound; noise; tone; news.

How do you pronounce 音?

It is pronounced yīn.

What parts is 音 made of?

立 (to stand; upright) and 日 (sun; day), one above the other. The recorded source is: 现代字形拆分，对照 hanzi-writer 笔画数据核验（立 5 画 + 日 4 画 = 9 画）；仅记录今体构形，不代表历史来源. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.

How many strokes does 音 have?

9. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.

What is the radical of 音?

音. The radical is how the character is filed in a dictionary — it is not the whole story of how the character is built.

What words use 音?

Common ones are 声音 and 音乐. The reading of 音 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.