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交响乐 (jiāo xiǎng yuè) — symphony

Definition

noun
symphony
Measure word · 部

Examples

  • 交响乐。
    Wǒ zuì jìn hěn xǐ huan tīng jiāo xiǎng yuè.
    I really like listening to symphonies recently.
  • 交响乐。
    Zhè shì yì shǒu zhù míng de jiāo xiǎng yuè.
    This is a famous symphony.
  • 交响乐！
    Míng tiān wǎn shàng wǒ men yì qǐ qù tīng jiāo xiǎng yuè ba!
    Let's go listen to a symphony together tomorrow evening!

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

交响interwoven sound
交jiāointerweave响xiǎngsound
偏正Modifier + head
乐lèmusic

The parts join interwoven sound with music, naming a symphony.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

交 originally drew a human with crossed legs. In the modern shape, the upper part resembles a standing person.

Open 交 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 響; 响 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
音音yīnsound
Sound part声符shēngfú
鄉
鄉xiāng響xiǎng
Same sound today

The traditional form 響 pairs 音, meaning sound, with 鄉 to give its pronunciation. The simplified 响 is a later shorthand, so its visible parts are not the historical parts.

Open 响 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 樂; 乐 is its simplified writing.

In the traditional form 樂, 絲 (string) with 木 (wood) shows strings on a piece of wood, a musical instrument; the simplified 乐 is a later shorthand.

Open 乐 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Music

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