影子 and 影.

[Skunk]

影子 and 影.

ying and yingzi.

What's the difference? Thanks guys. This looks like a great time and I think I'll be spending a great deal more time on it!

xie xie

-mS

[WangLongju]

.

Both mean shadow. Use ying3zi0 when you're talking about the shadow/figure/reflection/trace itself:

那件事我連一點兒影子也記不得了。

Na4 jian4 shi4 wo3 lian2 yi4dianr3 ying3zi0 ye3 ji4bu0de2 le0.

I can't recall even the slightest trace of that matter.

Generally speaking, use just ying3 when it is attached to a (usually single syllable) noun:

她看見一個人影（兒）在黑暗中消失了。

Ta1 kan4jian4 yi2ge0 ren2ying®3 zai4 hei1'an4 zhong1 xiao1shi1 le0.

She caught sight of a figure disappearing into the darkness.

.

[freemode]

we seldom use "影" alone. This character is the root for the meaning of "shadow". In modern Chinese, it always form a word with other characters such as "影子" "身影" "影响" "阴影".

When you want to mention a shadow but do not refer to any other meaning, use "影子". Otherwise, you use another word.

Exception is in oral language, in Putonghua, especially in northern China, you can se "影er", such as "这都是没影er的事" (this is aboslutely rootless).

[yidou]

professional

[waterluo]

影can't be used singly ,so you can add 子behind it ,or use a word before to decorate such as 人影,电影

[Skunk]

Great. Many thanks to everyone who responded. I apreciate it.

[weiming]

无影无踪

形影不离

Sure it can be used singly, but like most countable nouns in Chinese, it's not. The single-syllable structure, and fact that so many words share the same pronunciation prevents this. And so the measure words...and the countable noun suffix (子). There are of course, plenty of exceptions: 书， 车 ， 灯， 纸, animals (most of 'em)， and so on.