音 · yīn

sound

Radical pronunciation

Radical summary

#180

Kangxi

9

Strokes

#134

Frequency

Visual hint

A musical instrument or vibrating sound: a horizontal like a taut string and a vertical like a resonance chamber.

Suggests sound, voice, music, or resonance.

varies

Trace the radical, simplified, traditional, and variant forms when available.

音

2 examples

音

yīn

sound; music; note

HSK 3

响

xiǎng

to sound; echo; influence

HSK 3

Sound radical. Found in 音 (sound/music), 响 (to sound/echo), 暗 (dark/secret).

A taut string vibrating: sound resonating out — the sound radical depicts an ancient instrument making music.

言: 音 is physical sound (vibration); 言 is speech/language — 音 = sound, 言 = words.

What radical is this: 音?