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陰陽

简阴阳 · 繁陰陽

Mandarin · pinyin yīn yáng

yin and yang

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Characters in this entry

陰: Look up this written character
陽: yáng · the active, male principle in Chinese philosophy (yang); light; sun
阴: yīn · 'female' principle; dark; secret
阳: yáng · 'male' principle; light; sun

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

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Mandarin tones

1–2 · yin1 yang2

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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.

陰陽 · find source passages ↗ · 阴阳 · find source passages ↗

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Rime Cantonese 粵拼

jam1 joeng4

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

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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

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

noun

(Chinese philosophy) yin and yang (☯) (two opposing forces in nature)
(figurative) two contrasting things; antitheses
(literary) ancient Chinese astronomy, especially the study of the movement of celestial bodies
(literary, historical) occult arts such as astrology, divination, geomancy, etc.
(literary, historical) yin-yang geomancer
(physics) cathode and anode (short for 陰極 and short for 陽極)
(Sichuanese) fengshui master; geomancer

verb

(colloquial, slang, neologism) to speak or act in a sarcastic or ironic way; to insinuate; to mock in a disguised manner; to be passive-aggressive

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

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