First recorded in 1890–95
Yin is the feminine, negative principle in Chinese philosophy. It’s associated with Earth and passivity. Have you ever heard someone talk about balancing their yin and yang? Those are two contrasting aspects of Chinese philosophy. While yang is male, yin is female. Yin and yang both exist in everyone, which is why balancing them is considered important. Besides being associated with femaleness, yin also involves Earth, darkness, passiveness, and cold. Yin and yang are usually discussed together. The symbol of yin and yang is black and white, representing how the two principles complement each other.
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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
"We are quite different people - very much yin and yang - but I think decisions are better made with two brains rather than one as it stops hubris," says Begg, who is London-based.
From BBC • Jan. 12, 2026
Being supportive and demanding are a yin and yang—children need both from their parents to succeed.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 19, 2025
There is a yin and yang to that.
From Salon • Mar. 25, 2025
Seattle quarterback Geno Smith embodied the yin and yang of this wild game, throwing three beautiful touchdown passes but offsetting those with three interceptions.
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 4, 2024
The yin fixes the yang, the image restores the original: with DNA, as with Dorian Gray, the prototype is constantly reinvigorated by its portrait.
From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
