尹 meaning and stroke order
To govern, to oversee; director
How to write 尹, stroke by stroke
4 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
Meaning of 尹
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- (literary) to administer; to govern
- (bound form) governor; prefect; magistrate (official title in imperial times)
How 尹 is built
Pictographic character. A scepter.
Radical: 尸 (body), shared by 40 characters on this site.
How to remember 尹
Picture a hand holding a scepter: the shape of 尹 (yǐn) was drawn as a scepter, the tool of someone who governs. You can see it today as 尸 with a line 一 cutting through it, like a rod held across the body.
尹 is literary and mostly appears in old official titles such as 府尹 (fǔyǐn, prefect of a capital) and 令尹 (lìngyǐn, chief minister in the ancient state of Chu). Today it is most often seen as a surname: 尹先生是我的老师。 (Yǐn xiānsheng shì wǒ de lǎoshī.) Mr. Yin is my teacher.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 尹 with 君 (jūn, ruler), which is 尹 with 口 underneath, or with 伊 (yī), which adds 亻 on the left. Also keep the third tone yǐn, not the fourth tone of 印 (yìn, to print).
Characters that contain 尹
Learning 尹 makes these easier to recognize and write.
Questions about 尹
How many strokes are in 尹?
尹 is written with 4 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 尹 mean?
尹 (yǐn) means to govern, to oversee; director.
How do you pronounce 尹?
尹 is pronounced yǐn, in the third tone (dipping).
What is the radical of 尹?
The radical of 尹 is 尸, which carries the idea of "body". Dictionaries list 尹 under this radical.
Is 尹 a common Chinese surname?
Yes, 尹 (Yǐn) is a well-known surname in China and also in Korea, where it is romanized as Yoon or Yun. This is the main place modern speakers meet the character.
Can I use 尹 to mean 'to govern' in modern speech?
No, that sense is literary and belongs to classical texts. In everyday Chinese, use 管理 (guǎnlǐ, to manage) or 治理 (zhìlǐ, to govern) instead.