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八度 (bā dù) — octave (music)

Definition

Music term for the interval between two notes where the higher is double the frequency of the lower. Used in both technical writing and everyday talk about singing range, piano, and songs.

noun
octave (music)

Examples

  • 八度。
    Zhè ge yīn gāo le yí gè bā dù.
    This note is one octave higher.
  • 八度。
    Gāng qín de bā dù fàn wéi hěn kuān.
    The piano's octave range is very wide.
  • 八度。
    Zhè shǒu gē kuà yuè le liǎng gè bā dù.
    This song spans two octaves.

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.

八bāeight
度dùdegree

八 means eight and 度 means degree or step, so together they name an interval of eight musical steps.

Characters in this word

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

八 shows two bent lines, indicating the original meaning 'to divide'; it was later used for 'eight' because the words sounded alike.

Open 八 →

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

Meaning part形符xíngfú
又又yòuhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
石
石shí度dù
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

度 has 又 (hand) and a changed form of 石; 石 gives a related sound, and the hand is tied to using the hand as a reference for measurement.

Open 度 →
Appears in
Music

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