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English
Etymology 1
From early romanizations of Chinese 陽/阳 (yáng), originally in reference to the sunny side of areas such as mountains and dwellings.
Alternative forms
Pronunciation
Noun
yang (uncountable)
- (philosophy) A principle in Chinese and related East Asian philosophies associated with bright, hot, masculine, etc. elements of the natural world.
1956, Anthony Burgess, Time for a Tiger (The Malayan Trilogy), published 1972, page 187:"Steamed fish and chicken and vegetable soup and even mushrooms are considered cooling foods, edible materializations of the yang, the pure primal air. The yin, or earth element, inheres in fried dishes and especially in shark's fin soup. Am I right, Mr Lee?"
1985 August 17, S. H. Chua, “IGA Smashes Borders”, in Gay Community News, volume 13, number 6, page 10:The performance was unmistakably male and gay. The rousing lion dance that capped their performance provided the right touch of "yang" without destroying the distinct feel of something gay, Asian and new.
Related terms
Translations
Etymology 2
From Korean 양(兩) (yang, “yang, tael”). Doublet of liang.
Noun
yang (plural yangs)
- The monetary unit of Korea from 1892 to 1902, divided into 100 pun.
Etymology 3
Imitative.
Pronunciation
Verb
yang (third-person singular simple present yangs, present participle yanging, simple past and past participle yanged)
- (rare) To make the cry of the wild goose.
1902, Eleanor Gates, The biography of a prairie girl:Away they went, the colt in the lead and the pinto after, until they reached the bunch of cottonwoods far up the stream where the yanging wild geese had their nests.
1957, Adelbert Ames, Chronicles from the Nineteenth Century: 1874-1899:Last night we were awakened by the barking of dogs and yanging of a goose, and investigated to find that the man had neglected to house the geese and the dogs were killing them.
Noun
yang (plural yangs)
- The cry of the wild goose; a honk.
1867, Gail Hamilton, Wool-gathering, Boston: Ticknor and Fields, page 185:Hangs is a false word, — a Northern corruption of the negro dialect yang, — an onomatopœian word, representing the "far heard clang" of the wild goose.
Anagrams
Bahnar
Noun
yang
- a spirit or god
French
Etymology
Borrowed from Mandarin 陽/阳 (yáng).
Pronunciation
Noun
yang m (uncountable)
- yang
Further reading
Indonesian
Pronunciation
Etymology 1
From Malay yang, from Classical Malay يڠ (yang), from Old Malay yaṃ.
Conjunction
yang
- which ((relative) who, whom, what)
rumah yang aku mau- the house that i want
Pronoun
yang
- one (impersonal pronoun)
Alternative forms
Derived terms
Etymology 2
From Malay yang, from Proto-Malayic *hiaŋ, from Proto-Malayo-Chamic *hiaŋ, from Proto-Malayo-Sumbawan *hiaŋ, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *qiaŋ.
Noun
yang (plural yang-yang, first-person possessive yangku, second-person possessive yangmu, third-person possessive yangnya)
- (Hinduism) hyang: An unseen spirit with supernatural powers, in ancient Indonesian mythology.
Alternative forms
Etymology 3
Borrowed from Chinese 陽/阳 (yáng).
Noun
yang (plural yang-yang, first-person possessive yangku, second-person possessive yangmu, third-person possessive yangnya)
- (philosophy) yang: A principle in Chinese and related East Asian philosophies associated with bright, hot, masculine, etc. elements of the natural world.
- Antonym: yin
Etymology 4
Noun
yang (first-person possessive yangku, second-person possessive yangmu, third-person possessive yangnya)
- Aphetic form of sayang (“sweetheart; darling”)
Further reading
Lashi
Etymology
From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *g-jak ~ g-jaŋ (“sheep, yak”). Cognates include Chinese 羊 (yáng, “sheep, goat, antelope”) and English yak.
Pronunciation
Noun
yang
- sheep
References
- Hkaw Luk (2017) A grammatical sketch of Lacid, Chiang Mai: Payap University (master thesis)
Malay
Pronunciation
Etymology 1
First attested in the Kedukan Bukit inscription, 683 CE, as Old Malay (yaṃ).
Alternative forms
Conjunction
yang (Jawi spelling يڠ)
- which ((relative) who, whom, what)
Pronoun
yang (Jawi spelling يڠ)
- one (impersonal pronoun)
Etymology 2
From hiang, from Proto-Malayic *hiaŋ, from Proto-Malayo-Chamic *hiaŋ, from Proto-Malayo-Sumbawan *hiaŋ, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *qiaŋ.
Alternative forms
Noun
yang (Jawi spelling يڠ, used only in the form yang-yang)
- Alternative form of hiang
Synonyms
Etymology 3
Abbreviation of sayang.
Alternative forms
Noun
yang
- dear, honey; a title of address for a couple (include to husband and wife).
Etymology 4
Abbreviation of dayang.
Noun
yang
- (colloquial) a title of little distinction.
- (Pahang Malay, Johore Malay) a feminine titular prefix.
Further reading
- “yang” in Pusat Rujukan Persuratan Melayu | Malay Literary Reference Centre, Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, 2017.
- Wilkinson, Richard James. An Abridged Malay-English Dictionary. Macmillan. 1965.
Mandarin
Romanization
yang
- Nonstandard spelling of yāng.
- Nonstandard spelling of yáng.
- Nonstandard spelling of yǎng.
- Nonstandard spelling of yàng.
Usage notes
- Transcriptions of Mandarin into the Latin script often do not distinguish between the critical tonal differences employed in the Mandarin language, using words such as this one without indication of tone.
Mato
Pronunciation
Noun
yang
- wind
References
- Phonological Descriptions of Papua New Guinea Languages (2005, SIL, edited by Steve Parker), section Mato (Nenaya, Nengaya, Nineia) Language, page 28: yang 'wind'
Miskito
Pronunciation
Pronoun
yang
- I
See also
Miskito personal pronouns
Ternate
Etymology
From Malay yang, from Old Malay yaṃ.
Pronunciation
Conjunction
yang (Jawi يڠ)
- relative clause introducer; which, that
- Synonym: ma
- pangkat yang gaku ― a high position (literally, “a position which is high”)
- ngofa halal yang manyirah ― the legitimate eldest son (literally, “the legitimate son who is eldest”)
- oto yang ikuraci ngori ri die ― the yellow car is mine (literally, “the car which is yellow is my property”)
Usage notes
In older texts, as de Clercq mentions, yang was only used together with other Malay borrowings; in more recent usage, yang can follow non-Malay words as well.
References
- Frederik Sigismund Alexander de Clercq (1890) Bijdragen tot de kennis der Residentie Ternate, E.J. Brill
- Rika Hayami-Allen (2001) A descriptive study of the language of Ternate, the northern Moluccas, Indonesia, University of Pittsburgh
Wutunhua
Etymology
From Mandarin 羊 (yáng).
Pronunciation
Noun
yang
- sheep
je nga-n-de mize-de yang hai-li.- This is our little sister's sheep.
References
- Erika Sandman (2016) A Grammar of Wutun, University of Helsinki (PhD), →ISBN