DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

吟

Mandarin · pinyin yín

to chant; to recite
verse; song (often used in titles of classical poems)
(literary) to lament; to groan
(bound form) (in poetry) the cry of certain animals and insects
(music) rapid vibrato (technique for playing the guqin 古琴 gǔ qín) (cf. 猱 náo, wide vibrato)

Full entryShow on map

Characters in this entry

吟: yín · sing, hum; recite; type of poetry

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

Explore the spelling

Mandarin tones

2 · yin2

Compare attested words with these syllables ↗

Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.

Connected dictionary

1character link38same-tone records2source references

Explore word families ↗Compare pronunciations ↗Open character structure ↗

Counts describe dictionary records, not word frequency or semantic similarity. Source identities stay separate.

Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

吟 · find source passages ↗

Explore Classical grammar ↗

Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 4 senses · 2 Cantonese readings

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

jam4 · ngam4

Cantonese word readings for 吟. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

CanCLID contributors · CC BY 4.0 · source & license · Data pack

Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

character

to recite; to chant
to groan
(literature) a type of poetry
(of animals) to cry; to call

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source & license · Data pack