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阴间 (yīn jiān) — netherworld, underworld (realm of the dead)

Definition

The realm of the dead in Chinese folk belief (often paired with 阳间, the world of the living). 'Underworld' / 'netherworld' in translation, but it is a cultural concept, not just geography.

noun
netherworldunderworld (realm of the dead)

Examples

  • 阴间，。
    Zài yīn jiān, měi gè líng hún dōu yào jiē shòu shěn pàn.
    In the netherworld, every soul must undergo judgment.
  • 阴间。
    Tā sǐ hòu bèi sòng jìn le yīn jiān.
    After he died, he was sent into the netherworld.
  • 阴间。
    Chuán shuō zhōng yīn jiān yǒu shí bā céng dì yù.
    Legend says the netherworld has eighteen levels of hell.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

阴yīnyin
间jiānspace

阴 contributes the hidden yin realm, and 间 contributes space or world.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 陰; 阴 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
阜阜fù
Sound part声符shēngfú
侌
侌yīn陰yīn
Same sound today

The traditional form 陰 combines 阜, the meaning part, with 侌, the sound part. The simplified 阴 is a later shorthand, so its parts are not the historical pieces.

Open 阴 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 间 →
Appears in
Mythology & FolkloreReligion & Belief

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