影 (yǐng): picture, image, film
影 (yǐng) is a Chinese character meaning “picture.” Classified as HSK Level 1 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 景 (phonetic) and 彡 (semantic). It ranks #390 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 影 sunlight. Its radical form 彡 (bristle) appears in many related characters such as 形 (xíng, to appear), 彩 (cǎi, (bright) color), 彬 (bīn, urbane).
Definitions
- picture
- image
- film
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
Practice writing 影 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 影
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 电影noun | diàn yǐng | movie | 1 |
| 影响verb/noun | yǐng xiǎng | influence | 3 |
| 摄影verb | shè yǐng | to take a photograph | 5 |
| 影片noun | yǐng piàn | a copy of a film | 5 |
| 影子noun | yǐng zi | shadow | 6 |
| 电影院noun | diàn yǐng yuàn | cinema | 1 |
| 合影verb/noun | hé yǐng | group photo | 5 |
| 影视noun | yǐng shì | movies and television | 5 |
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 摄影师 | shè yǐng shī | photographer |
| 阴影 | yīn yǐng | (lit. and fig.) shadow |
| 影像 | yǐng xiàng | image |
| 摄影机 | shè yǐng jī | (old) camera |
| 影响力 | yǐng xiǎng lì | influence |
| 影星 | yǐng xīng | film star |
| 幻影 | huàn yǐng | phantom |
| 摄影棚 | shè yǐng péng | film studio |
| 影迷 | yǐng mí | film enthusiast |
| 影院 | yǐng yuàn | cinema |
| 身影 | shēn yǐng | silhouette |
| 踪影 | zōng yǐng | trace |
| 电影节 | diàn yǐng jié | film festival |
| 人影 | rén yǐng | the shadow of a human figure |
| 倒影 | dào yǐng | inverted image |
影 appears in 100 compound words: 32 as the first character, 43 as the last, and 25 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 影 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (24)
false alarm; self-created suspicion; atmosphere of fear and admonition
lit. looking at one's shadow and feeling sorry for oneself (idiom); fig. alone and dejected
lit. looking at one's shadow and feeling sorry for oneself (idiom); fig. alone and dejected
Showing 12 of 24 idioms containing 影.
Example Sentences
了解影字的来源，有助于理解中国文化。
le xiè yǐng zì de lái yuán , yǒu zhù yú lǐ xiè zhōng guó wén huā .
Understanding the origin of the character for "shadow" helps to comprehend Chinese culture.
...新春走基层·春节我在岗”这个春节,她的身影真美!
. . . xīn chūn zǒu jī céng chūn jié wǒ zài gǎng zhè gè chūn jié , tā de shēn yǐng zhēn měi !
... New Year to the grassroots level, the Spring Festival I am at work" This Spring Festival, her figure is so beautiful!
AI“硬控”春节档,电影为何更有“人味”了
A I yìng kòng chūn jié dàng , diàn yǐng wéi hé gēng yǒu rén wèi le
AI "hard controls" the Spring Festival file, why is the movie more "human"
冬奥会|家乡连线:“最强夫妻档”!电影都不敢这么演..
dōng ào huì jiā xiāng lián xiàn : zuì qiáng fū qī dàng ! diàn yǐng dōu bù gǎn zhè má yǎn . .
Winter Olympics|Hometown Connection: "The Strongest Couple"! The movie doesn't dare to act like this:
外媒:春节全球影响力持续扩大
wài méi : chūn jié quán qiú yǐng xiǎng lì chí xù kuò dà
Foreign media: The global influence of the Spring Festival continues to expand
致敬坚守者:宝山这些身影温暖了我们的团圆年|在宝山..
zhì jìng jiān shǒu zhě : bǎo shān zhè xiē shēn yǐng wēn nuǎn le wǒ men de tuán yuán nián zài bǎo shān . .
Salute to the perseverance: These figures of Baoshan warmed our reunion year|In Baoshan:
你最近有没有看电影？
Nǐ zuì jìn yǒuméiyǒu kàn diànyǐng?
Have you seen any movies lately?
电影已经开始了吗？
Diànyǐng yǐjīng kāishǐ le ma?
Has the movie started?
那个摄影师是哪国人？
Nàge shèyǐngshī shì nǎ guórén?
What's the nationality of that cameraman over there?
这里附近有没有电影院？
Zhèlǐ fùjìn yǒuméiyǒu diànyǐngyuàn?
Are there any movie theaters near here?
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 影 (yǐng) mean in Chinese?
What's the difference between 影 and 憬?
How many strokes does 影 have?
What is the radical of 影?
What are the components of 影?
What are common words containing 影?
What characters sound the same as 影 (yǐng)?
Is 影 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 影 with real-time feedback
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