垠

yín
noun #51,324

Meanings

  1. 1 boundary; limit; edge
  2. 2 bank; shore

Examples

HSK 6
Shāmò yíwàng-wúyín, guǎngkuò wúbiān.
The desert stretched on, vast and without limit.
HSK 6
Zhàn zài ànbiān, wúyín de dàhǎi jìnshōu-yǎndǐ.
Standing on the shore, the boundless sea filled his view.

Tips

usage
Mostly seen in the literary phrase 一望无垠 ('a boundless expanse as far as the eye can see'), used for deserts, plains, oceans and skies, anything that seems to have no edge.

Components

radical
土 tǔ
earth; soil
Earth radical on the left, 土. It anchors the meaning in land and ground, the edge or limit of a stretch of terrain. Same family as 地 ground, 境 border, 坡 slope.
phonetic
艮 gèn
blunt; (trigram for mountain)
Right side 艮 is the sound element (gèn shifting to yín). The same phonetic appears in 银 silver and 根 root; here it lends only its reading.

Stroke Order

垠 yín