Dong Chinese dictionary

yīn

sound

Originally the same as 言 (speech) but with an extra line added in the mouth (口) to distinguish the two characters.

Components

言 Iconic component

yán

speech

Depicts a tongue sticking out of the mouth.

Due to historical stylistic changes, this component is less similar to 言 than it was in ancient scripts.

characterless component

Mark to distinguish 音 from 言.

Evolution

Bronze script

Qin dynasty (221-206 BC)

Seal script

Shuowen (~100 AD)

Clerical script

Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)

Regular script

Modern

Definitions

yīn

sound, tone, pitch, pronunciation; sound; noise; note (of musical scale); tone; news; syllable; reading (phonetic value of a character)

Most common words with 音

Component uses

Meaning component in 5 characters (2 verified)

Sound component in 8 characters (1 verified)

Sources

季旭昇《說文新證》p.164-165