HanziGuru.贏 · yíng
贏
yíng[ying2]Tone 2

win

HSK 3
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赢
Guru Deep Dive

English · win

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Topology:Top-bottom
Strokes:17
Writing Balance Rule: Maintain vertical harmony by compressing the top components (亡, 口) and stacking the sprawling lower parts (月, 貝, 凡) symmetrically without letting any single corner collapse.
Simplification Logic: The traditional character 贏 was simplified to 赢 by streamlining the complex upper and lower elements while keeping the core phonetic and semantic reminders recognizable.
1. Meaning

to win, to beat, to profit

to gain an advantageto come out ahead
VerbNeutral#competition#success#finance
Sample Usage
  • 这场比赛我们赢了。
    Zhè chǎng bǐsài wǒmen yíng le.
    We won this match.
  • 做生意要不怕亏，才能赢。
    Zuò shēngyì yào bù pà kuī, cáinéng yíng.
    Doing business requires not fearing losses in order to profit.
2. Sound
/[iŋ³⁵]/Tone: 35
贏
yíngying2
++
´(35)
=yíng
Initial Consonant
y
Type: Palatal Glide (Zero Initial)
Sounds like: y
Unaspirated
Airflow Tactile Test: Acts as a bridge into 'i' or 'ü' vowel sounds.
Tongue & Mouth Position: Raise middle of tongue toward hard palate, gliding effortlessly into vowel.
Final Rhyme
ing
Vowel Group: -i vowel group
Sounds like: -ing rhymes with the 'ing' in 'sing'
Mouth Shape Guide: Pronounce as standalone vowel 'eeng'.
Common Learner Trap: Keep vowel quality steady across all 4 tone contours.
Tone
T2 (35)
2nd Tone (Mid-Rising)
Tone Pitch & Cadence: Tone 2 is a rising pitch (35), identical to the inflection used in English when asking a surprised question like 'Huh?' or 'What?'.
Sandhi: When followed by another Tone 2 character, it shifts slightly to a half-rising contour before rising again.
👂
Listening trap: Confusing it with Tone 4 (yìng ӭ), which drops sharply, whereas yíng rises.
👋
Physical Tone Gesture: Start with your hand flat at chest level and sweep it upward into the air like an airplane taking off.
3. Writing

Topology: Top-bottom · Strokes: 17 strokes

Writing Balance Rule: Maintain vertical harmony by compressing the top components (亡, 口) and stacking the sprawling lower parts (月, 貝, 凡) symmetrically without letting any single corner collapse.

Simplification Logic: The traditional character 贏 was simplified to 赢 by streamlining the complex upper and lower elements while keeping the core phonetic and semantic reminders recognizable.

4. Components

Radical 貝 · Shell / Money Radical (money, wealth, treasure)

Semantic Clue (形旁): 貝 (indicates profit, wealth, and material gain associated with winning)

Phonetic Clue (声旁): 𠫓 (original sound: ying)

To WIN (赢) big in business, you need five distinct ingredients: a DEATH-defying mindset (亡), a sharp MOUTH/strategy (口), the patience of the MOON/time (月), plenty of MONEY/shell currency (貝), and a NORMAL/ordinary start (凡).

  • 亡 death / danger
  • 口 mouth / speaking
  • 月 moon / flesh
  • 貝 money / treasure
  • 凡 ordinary / common
5. History
Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)

Origin: The character combines phonetic elements with semantic roots signifying wealth and acquisition, reflecting ancient concepts of capturing spoils or profiting from ventures.

Semantic Evolution: Originally associated with excess, profit, and commercial surplus, it broadened over time to mean any form of victory, beating an opponent, or winning a game.

  • The sheer number of strokes (17) makes it one of the most structurally complex common characters in modern Chinese.
  • It represents a mini-encyclopedia of components bundled into a single block.
6. Sinosphere
🇯🇵
Kanji (Japanese)
On: エイ (ei) / Kun: か・つ (katsu)
🇰🇷
Hanja (Korean)
영
7. Memory
Vivid Mnemonic Story

To **WIN** (yíng) the championship, you must stare **DEATH** (亡) in the face, shout battle cries with your **MOUTH** (口), train through the **NIGHT/MOON** (月), collect the prize **MONEY** (貝), and rise from an **ORDINARY** (凡) person into a legend!

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)
赢
yíngto winBase character for winning
羸
léiemaciated, weakReplaces the bottom money radical with silk/thread elements, meaning frail and weak.
Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)
亏(kuī)
亏 means loss or deficit, which is the exact opposite outcome of 赢 (win/profit).
8. Mastery
Active Recall Challenge
這場比賽我們一定要___！
Clue: yíng
Common Learner Pitfall

Attempting to write all 17 strokes from memory without breaking down its five constituent building blocks (亡, 口, 月, 貝, 凡), leading to missing strokes or misplaced proportions.

Memory Prompts
Recognition: When you see the complex 17-stroke character 赢 with the money radical at the bottom, what does it mean?
Production: How do you write the character for 'to win' (yíng) using its 5 mnemonic parts?
Real-World Video Context

Watch authentic native speakers pronounce and explain this word in real-world YouTube videos.

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