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• yin
  yin

  noun

  (in Chinese philosophy and religion) the negative, dark, and feminine principle, the counterpart of yang.
• Yin
  Yin

  noun

  Shang.

yin

¹ American  

[yin] / jɪn /

noun

• yins
  plural

1. (in Chinese philosophy and religion) the negative, dark, and feminine principle, the counterpart of yang.

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yin ² American  

[yin] / jɪn /

adjective

Scot.

1. one.

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Yin ³ American  

[yin] / jɪn /

noun

1. Shang.

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yin British  

/ jɪn /

determiner

1. a Scot word for one

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• yins
  plural

Etymology

Origin of yin

First recorded in 1890–95

Explanation

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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

yin Yin yins

Guy and Bruno constitute the two halves of a single personality, the yin and the yang, the superego and the id.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026

The source said the deputy should be the "yin to the yang" of No 10.

From BBC ● Oct. 11, 2025

There is a yin and yang to that.

From Salon ● Mar. 25, 2025

“It’s well documented they were yin and yang, so it happened naturally. The deeper rooted he was, the more I could fly.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 18, 2024

With imagined tragedy hovering over us, we became inseparable, two halves creating the whole: yin and yang.

From "The Joy Luck Club" by Amy Tan

The 75-minute Yin Yoga session is led by a trauma-informed instructor.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2026

Yin Yin Aung's home is now a small, dimly lit room with a very basic bathroom at the back.

From BBC ● Jul. 30, 2026

StepFun's chairman Yin Qi said "deep partnerships" had been established with several major Chinese platforms, including Alipay and ride-hailing giant Didi, according to a sponsored article in state news agency Xinhua.

From Barron's ● Jul. 19, 2026

"There's no way solar evaporation alone can match future demand," said Ngai Yin Yip, La Von Duddleson Krumb Associate Professor of Earth and Environmental Engineering at Columbia University.

From Science Daily ● May 23, 2026

Once in a great while, the stick got a lucky hit, but the Goddess Kwan Yin was again merciful and sent the ball nowhere near the fence.

From "In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson" by Bette Bao Lord

Pat told BBC Radio's Good Morning Scotland that he enjoys his new nickname of "grandad" from the "young yins" who watch his videos on TikTok.

From BBC ● Jun. 14, 2023

Do ye mind the game the wee yins play, of noughts and crosses?

From Between You and Me by Sir Harry Lauder

Betty never telt me, an' I never asked; but wi' us yins doon here it's nae wark, nae pey.

From Betty Grier by Joseph Laing Waugh

Did it no' occur to ye then that there ought to be some sort of dispensation to look after the auld yins who were past it?

From The Atlantic Book of Modern Plays by Sterling Andrus Leonard

"Ah, weel," said Sandy, "ye'll notice that the full heids hang down, an' that the empty yins stand up."

From Jokes For All Occasions Selected and Edited by One of America's Foremost Public Speakers by Anonymous