How to Write 侌 (yīn) — Meaning “cloudy; shade; feminine principle (ancient form of 阴)”

Imagine a person (亻) standing under a dark cloud (云), feeling gloomy and cold. The cloud blocks the sun, creating shade — that is the idea of 侌. This image helps link the components to its meaning of cloudy and dark.

Write the top part 亻 first (left-falling stroke, then vertical stroke), then the bottom 云 (horizontal, horizontal, left-falling, right-dot). A common mistake is making the 亻 too wide or the 云 too narrow; keep them balanced. The total is 8 strokes.

侌 (yīn) means cloudy or shade, while 仰 (yǎng) means to face upward or admire, and 仲 (zhòng) means middle or second. Visually, 侌 has a person radical above 云, whereas 仰 and 仲 use different lower components (卩 and 中). Their meanings and pronunciations are completely different.

侌 is an ancient form of 阴 and is rarely used in modern Chinese except in classical texts or calligraphy. It appears in compound words like 侌曀 (cloudy and windy) but is not part of daily language. Learning it helps understand the evolution of the yin-yang concept.

Common words containing 侌 include: 侌曀 (yīn yì) — cloudy and windy; 侌森 (yīn sēn) — gloomy and cold; 侌暗 (yīn àn) — dark; gloomy.