赢 (yíng) — to win (a competition, game, etc.); to beat (an opponent); to profit; to make a profit
Definition
赢 (yíng) is the everyday verb 'to win / to beat', covering both games and opponents. For making money, prefer 赚; for a more formal 'achieve victory' use 胜利.
verb
to win (a competition, game, etc.)to beat (an opponent)to profitto make a profit
Easily confused
Examples
- 赢。Wǒ men duì yíng le bǐ sài.Our team won the match.
- 赢。Tā xià qí yíng le wǒ.He beat me at chess.
- 赢。Zhè cì shēng yì yíng le bù shǎo qián.This business made quite a bit of money.
Origin
Sound + meaning六书liùshū
形声xíngshēngMost 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 贏; 赢 is its simplified writing.
Meaning part形符xíngfú
貝貝bèicowry; money
Sound part声符shēngfú
𦝠
𦝠𦝠贏yíng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.
The traditional form 贏 is built from 貝 (cowry; money) and 𦝠, which gives the sound; the simplified 赢 is a later shorthand.
Appears in
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