Writing Balance Rule: Keep the left vertical component (弓) compact and slightly curved, allowing the right vertical stroke (丨) to stand tall and anchor the character.
1. Meaning
to draw, to pull, to stretch
to attractto lead or guideto implicate or involveold unit of distance equal to 33.33 meters
VerbNeutral#movement#force#guidance#measurement
Sample Usage
吸引
xīyǐn
to attract, to draw (interest)
引路
yǐn lù
to lead the way
2. Sound
/[in²¹⁴]/Tone: 214
引
yǐnyin3
|
++
ˇ(214)
=yǐn
Initial Consonant
y
Type: Palatal Glide (Zero Initial)
Sounds like: Zero-initial, starts directly with the vowel sound 'i'
Unaspirated
Airflow Tactile Test: Acts as a bridge into 'i' or 'ü' vowel sounds.
Tongue & Mouth Position: Tongue blade raised close to the hard palate for the 'i' glide.
Final Rhyme
in
Vowel Group: -i vowel group
Sounds like: rhymes with bean without the b
Mouth Shape Guide: Pronounce as standalone vowel 'een'.
Common Learner Trap: Keep vowel quality steady across all 4 tone contours.
Tone
T3 (214)
2 → 1 → 4 (214)
3rd Tone (Low-Dipping)
Tone Pitch & Cadence: Tone 3 dips down like a hesitant 'Hmm?' and rises back up in pitch.
Sandhi: When followed by another 3rd tone syllable, it shifts to a 2nd tone (rising 35).
👂
Listening trap: Confusing the low dipping tone 3 with tone 4, cutting the dip short without rising at the end.
👋
Physical Tone Gesture: Trace a checkmark in the air: dip down low to your chest and sweep up high to the right.
3. Writing
Topology: Left-right · Strokes: 4 strokes
Writing Balance Rule: Keep the left vertical component (弓) compact and slightly curved, allowing the right vertical stroke (丨) to stand tall and anchor the character.
4. Components
Radical弓 · Bow Radical (bow (weapon))
Semantic Clue (形旁):弓 (indicates drawing or pulling like a bow)
A bow (弓) combined with a vertical pull line (丨) representing the action of drawing the bowstring back.
弓 Bow weapon or curved object
丨 Vertical pulling line or arrow shaft
Phonetic Family (形声字家族)
2· Phonetic Root: 引 (yǐn)
5. History
Liushu category: Compound ideogram (会意)
Origin: Originally depicted a bow (弓) with a vertical line representing the pulling of the bowstring or an arrow being notched.
Semantic Evolution: From the physical act of drawing a bowstring, it expanded to mean pulling, stretching, guiding, and introducing or quoting text.
Ancient archery metaphors frequently appear in classical Chinese philosophy, linking physical tension to moral self-cultivation.
6. Sinosphere
🇻🇳
Sino-Vietnamese
dẫn
Mandarin 3rd tone corresponds roughly to Vietnamese hỏi/ngã tone curve.
🇯🇵
Kanji (Japanese)
On: イン / Kun: ひく
🇰🇷
Hanja (Korean)
인
Sound Shift Bridge: The historical initial nasal/glide in Sino-Xenic traditions maps consistently to modern pinyin 'y-'.
7. Memory
Vivid Mnemonic Story
You pull back the string of a powerful BOW (弓) with a straight vertical PULL (丨) to LAUNCH an arrow far away.
Phonetic Family (形声字家族)
蚓
yǐnearthwormAdd insect radical (虫) on the left for earthworm.
矧
shěnmuch more / all the moreAdd arrow radical (矢) on the left.
Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)
弘(hóng)
Has a private/elbow component (厶) on the right instead of a straight vertical pull line (丨).
8. Mastery
Active Recall Challenge
这块磁铁能[___]周围的铁屑。
Clue: xī yǐn
Common Learner Pitfall
Confusing the stroke order of the bow radical (弓) with square enclosures, or writing the right vertical stroke too short.
Memory Prompts
Recognition: When you see 引, what physical action of a bow does it represent?
Production: How do you write the character meaning 'to pull or draw' (yǐn) with 4 strokes?
Real-World Video Context
Watch authentic native speakers pronounce and explain this word in real-world YouTube videos.
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引yǐnto pull
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