飲 (yǐn) - Meaning, Stroke Order & Audio

飲

yǐn[yin3]Tone 3

to drink

HSK 5

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饮

Multiple Readings (多音字):

Guru Deep Dive

English · to drink

Cached lesson

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Topology:Left-right

Strokes:7

Writing Balance Rule: The left component (饣) should be compressed slightly to make space for the right component (欠), keeping the overall character balanced within an imaginary square grid.

Simplification Logic: The traditional radical 飠 (food) on the left was simplified to 饣 in the modern standard form.

1. Meaning

to drink

beverageto swallowto suppress or harbor (feelings)

VerbNeutral#food and drink#actions#consumption

Sample Usage

你想喝点什么？
nǐ xiǎng hē diǎn shénme?
What would you like to drink?
饮用水
yǐn yǒng shuǐ
drinking water

2. Sound

/[in²¹⁴]/Tone: 214

飲

yǐnyin3

ˇ(214)

=yǐn

Initial Consonant

Type: Palatal Glide (Zero Initial)

Sounds like: y sound acting as a semi-vowel glide

Unaspirated

Airflow Tactile Test: Acts as a bridge into 'i' or 'ü' vowel sounds.

Tongue & Mouth Position: Front of tongue rises close to the hard palate as a glide transitioning into the vowel.

Final Rhyme

Vowel Group: -i vowel group

Sounds like: -in rhymes with the English word 'in'

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 low like a skeptical English 'Hmm?', starting in the middle, dropping to the bottom, and bouncing up.

Sandhi: When followed by another 3rd tone syllable, yin3 changes to a 2nd tone (yín) for smoother vocal articulation.

👂

Listening trap: Beginners often confuse the final nasal ending '-n' with the retroflex or velar nasal '-ng', pronouncing it like 'ying'.

👋

Physical Tone Gesture: Trace a checkmark in the air: dip down sharply from a mid register to a low point, then rise up to a high finish.

3. Writing

Topology: Left-right · Strokes: 7 strokes

Writing Balance Rule: The left component (饣) should be compressed slightly to make space for the right component (欠), keeping the overall character balanced within an imaginary square grid.

Simplification Logic: The traditional radical 飠 (food) on the left was simplified to 饣 in the modern standard form.

4. Components

Radical 饣 · Food Radical (food, eating, and drinking)

Semantic Clue (形旁): 饣 (Indicates that the action relates to food, eating, or drinking.)

Phonetic Clue (声旁): 欠 (original sound: qiàn / yín phonetic series connection)

A person with the food radical (饣) next to someone opening their mouth wide to yawn or swallow (欠) represents the act of drinking.

饣 Food and drink semantic classifier
欠 Phonetic and structural component denoting opening the mouth

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

16· Phonetic Root: 欠 (qiàn)

5. History

Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)

Origin: Originally depicted as a person bending over a wine vessel to drink. Over time, the food radical was added to emphasize consumption.

Semantic Evolution: Shifted from a pictographic depiction of drinking to a standardized phono-semantic character combining 'food/drink' with a phonetic element.

In classical Chinese literature, 饮 often specifically referred to drinking wine or holding banquets.

6. Sinosphere

🇯🇵

Kanji (Japanese)

On: イン (in) / Kun: no.mu

🇰🇷

Hanja (Korean)

음

Sound Shift Bridge: The -in ending corresponds with Japanese On'yomi 'in' and Korean '음' (e.g., 음료수 for beverages).

7. Memory

Vivid Mnemonic Story

You use the food radical (饣) because you are thirsty for something to drink, and you open your mouth wide with a yawn (欠) to gulp it down.

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

软

ruǎnsoftReplaces the food radical with vehicle/cart or other parts? Wait, 软 has vehicle radical 车 + 欠.

吹

chuīto blowUses mouth radical 口 instead of food radical.

Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)

饭(fàn)

饭 means cooked rice and uses the food radical 饣 on the left paired with 反 on the right, whereas 饮 uses 欠 on the right.

8. Mastery

Active Recall Challenge

口渴的時候，我喜歡[___]冰水。

Clue: yǐn

Common Learner Pitfall

Confusing the right-hand side component 欠 with similar-looking components or failing to distinguish it from the simpler everyday verb 喝 (hē).

Memory Prompts

Recognition: What does the character 饮 mean and how is it pronounced with tone?

Production: How do you write the character for 'to drink' (formal/compound sense) featuring the food radical?

飲yǐnto drink

Speed:

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