盈 (yíng) · to be full, to be filled with, surplus

Meanings

1 to be full
2 to be filled with
3 surplus
4 profit

Characters

盈

yíng

full; surplus

Examples

HSK 1

今年公司盈了不少。

Jīnnián gōngsī yíng le bùshǎo.

The company turned a sizable profit this year.

HSK 5

她眼里盈着泪水。

Tā yǎnlǐ yíng zhe lèishuǐ.

Her eyes were brimming with tears.

Tips

memory

The character 盈 has 皿 (dish / vessel) at the bottom - the 'full' meaning is the picture of a vessel filled to the brim. From this come 充盈 (full), 盈余 (surplus), 盈利 (profit), and the famous 月有盈亏 ('the moon waxes and wanes').

Components

radical

皿 mǐn

dish; vessel

Bottom dish radical, depicting a flat-bottomed vessel with a base. Anchors 盈 as something contained - a dish brimming over the rim. Same vessel family: 益 (overflow, originally water over a dish), 盘 (plate), 盆 (basin), 盐 (salt). The picture is a vessel filled to and past its capacity.

semantic

夃 gǔ

to gain profit

Top portion, an archaic graph meaning to profit or gain. In 盈 it suggests fullness through accumulation - what you gain piles up over time. Functions semantically here, marking 盈 as a verb of overflowing abundance: 盈利 (profit), 盈余 (surplus).