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Word file #001Cooling offBig ideas

What does yin yang mean?

阴阳yīnyáng

Say ityin-YANG/ˌjɪn ˈjæŋ/noun

Character by character
  1. 阴yīnshady side, dark
  2. 阳yángsunny side, bright

The Chinese idea of two opposite forces, yin and yang, that complete each other; in everyday English, any two opposite sides or parts that go together.

Written by the Second Language TeamWritten

Yin yang is the old Chinese idea that the world runs on two opposite forces that need each other. Yin is the dark, cool, quiet side, and yang is the bright, warm, active side. You will also see it written as yin and yang, or yin-yang. In everyday English it means any opposite sides or parts that go together [1], like a loud friend and a quiet one, or salty and sweet. You meet it in the black-and-white swirl symbol, in martial arts and wellness talk, and very often in sports and news writing.

English speakers say yin-YANG, and “yang” rhymes with “sang.” The Mandarin word is 阴阳 yīnyáng (traditional 陰陽). 阴 yīn has a high, flat tone, and 阳 yáng rises, like a question. Mandarin yáng sounds closer to “yahng.” Both characters start with the same part, 阝, which stands for a hill. 阴 adds 月 (moon) and 阳 adds 日 (sun). Literally, they are the shady side and the sunny side of a hill [2]. In English, yin yang is a neutral, standard phrase, fine in any conversation or article.

Word stats

Known in English
Almost everyone knows the black-and-white swirl, even people who have never opened a book on Chinese philosophy.
Said in China today
Chinese speakers use 阴阳 for philosophy and medicine, but online it often means something else entirely: being sarcastic.
Polite
Neutral and safe anywhere in English. Only the Chinese slang verb is a jab.
Freshness
Searches are a little lower than last year, so the balance has tipped slightly toward yin.

Spotted in the wild

Group chat · Friday, 8:40 pm
  1. Mayahow are jess and tom still together, they’re total opposites
  2. Youshe plans every minute and he forgets what day it is
  3. Mayahonestly that’s why it works. she’s the yin to his yang

What it means here: Jess and Tom are opposites who balance each other; here yin yang is a warm compliment, not a complaint.

Comments under a tattoo studio’s post
  1. Alexfirst tattoo!! tiny yin-yang on my wrist
  2. Priyalove it. wait, which half is yin?
  3. Alexthe dark half. yang is the light one, and each has a little dot of the other
  4. Priyaso you’re officially balanced now

What it means here: Here yin-yang means the symbol: yin is the dark half and yang is the light half.

Text with a friend from Shanghai
  1. Youwow, you ate all the dumplings. so generous of you
  2. Lin别阴阳我了 😂
  3. Youyin yang you? what does philosophy have to do with dumplings
  4. Linonline it means being sarcastic. which you were

What it means here: 别阴阳我了 (bié yīnyáng wǒ le) means “stop being sarcastic at me”; this meaning is Chinese internet slang, not English.

How to use it

  • the yin to someone’s yangShe’s the yin to my yang: I plan everything, and she improvises.
  • the yin and yang of somethingLoud days and quiet nights are the yin and yang of city life.
  • a yin-yang symbol / tattoo / necklaceHe wears a little yin-yang necklace his grandmother gave him.
  • balance yin and yang (in philosophy or Chinese medicine)Traditional Chinese medicine talks about keeping yin and yang in balance.

Don’t say it like this

  • Sounds offying yang

    Say thisyin yang

    There is no “g” at the end of yin. “Ying-yang” is a very common misspelling.

  • Sounds offYin is the evil side and yang is the good side.

    Say thisYin and yang are two halves that need each other.

    Neither side is good or bad. The idea is balance, not a fight between good and evil.

  • Sounds offShe’s my yin yang.

    Say thisShe’s the yin to my yang.

    In English, each person is one half of the pair, so you split the phrase between the two of you.

  • Sounds offStop yin-yanging me.

    Say thisStop being so sarcastic.

    The “sarcastic” meaning is Chinese internet slang only. English speakers will not understand it.

yin yang or not?

Is each of these yin yang? Pick an answer to find out.

  1. A band works because the singer is wild on stage and the drummer is calm and keeps everyone on time.

  2. A superhero finally defeats the villain who wants to destroy the city.

  3. A snack mixes sweet caramel with salty pretzels, and each taste makes the other better.

  4. Two rival companies try to put each other out of business.

The yin yang family

  • 太极图 tàijítú“Supreme ultimate diagram”: the Chinese name for the black-and-white yin-yang symbol.Each half holds a small dot of the other color. Even opposites keep a souvenir.
  • 阴阳怪气 yīnyáng guàiqìSarcastic or passive-aggressive; online it is often shortened to yygq.Sweet words, sour meaning. Four letters are all you need to call it out.
  • 道 dào“The Way”: the path of nature in Taoism, also written Tao.An old Chinese text says a succession of yin and yang is called the Dao. Busy word.

Where it came from

  1. c. 4th century BCEYin and yang are first mentioned together in the Xici (“Appended Explanations”), an addition to the Yijing, or Book of Changes. It says: “A succession of yin and yang is called the Tao.” [2]
  2. Warring States period (475–221 BCE)The idea, first thought up by musicians, astronomers, or diviners, is spread by a school later named after it. Over time it becomes shared by all Chinese philosophy [2].
  3. 1877Merriam-Webster’s first known use of “yin and yang” in English in the sense of opposite sides, elements, or extremes [1].
  4. TodayEnglish uses yin and yang for any balanced pair. Online, Chinese speakers also use 阴阳 to call someone sarcastic.

Yin yang in English vs. 阴阳 in Chinese

English speakers use yin yang mostly as a loose picture of balance. Chinese speakers still use 阴阳 for the philosophy, and the internet has given it a very different second job.

PointEnglish yin yangChinese 阴阳
Main meaningAny two opposites that go together; also the Chinese ideaThe philosophy of two forces that complete each other
Other meaningsThe black-and-white swirl symbolA term in traditional Chinese medicine; online slang for being sarcastic
FeelingNeutral, often warmNeutral as philosophy; a jab as slang
Where you meet itCouples, sports writing, tattoos, wellnessPhilosophy books, Chinese medicine, comment sections

Yin and yang are not good and evil. Britannica describes them as complementary phases that depend on each other and take turns in space and time, standing for the harmony of all pairs of opposites [2]. Night is not the enemy of day; it is the other half of it. The old labels, with yin as feminine and passive and yang as masculine and active, are traditional associations, not statements about men and women today.

Online, Chinese speakers use 阴阳 as a verb that means “to be sarcastic at someone.” It is short for 阴阳怪气 yīnyáng guàiqì, the “yin-yang tone,” often typed as yygq. The World of Chinese explains that this tone always looks kind and positive, but carries satire, discontent, contempt, or even anger [3]. It is close to what English calls passive aggression. Some people say the idiom 阴阳怪气 comes from Cao Yu’s 1940 play Peking Man (北京人), but its real origin is hard to trace [3].

None of these slang meanings exist in English. If an English speaker calls a couple “the yin and yang of the office,” it is a compliment. If a Chinese speaker says you are 阴阳-ing them, you are being called sarcastic.

Sources

  1. YIN AND YANG Definition & MeaningMerriam-Webster
  2. Taoism - Chinese Philosophy, Yin-Yang, Taoism (Early eclectic contributions)Encyclopaedia Britannica
  3. Chinese Netizens Are Asking: Have You Spoken Decently Today?The World of Chinese, March 2023

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