唱词 (chàng cí) — (in Chinese opera) libretto; (of a ballad or song) lyrics, words

Definition

唱词 (chàng cí) refers to the words or lyrics of a sung piece — specifically the libretto of Chinese opera or the text of a ballad. It is a written, formal term rather than everyday 歌词 (lyrics of modern pop songs).

noun
(in Chinese opera) libretto(of a ballad or song) lyricswords

Examples

  • 唱词。
    Zhè duàn chàng cí hěn jīng diǎn.
    This libretto is a classic.
  • 唱词。
    Tā bèi le zhěng duàn chàng cí.
    He recited the entire libretto.
  • 唱词。
    chàng cí Fǎn yìng le dāng shí de shè huì fēng sú.
    The lyrics reflect the social customs of that time.

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.

唱chàngsing
词cíwords

唱词 combines 唱 (sing) and 词 (words) to mean the words meant to be sung.

Characters in this word

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
口口kǒu
Sound part声符shēngfú
昌
昌chāng唱chàng
Same sound today

The 口 part points to the mouth, while 昌 shows how the character is pronounced.

Open 唱 →

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 詞; 词 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
言言yánspeech
Sound part声符shēngfú
司
司sī詞cí(r)
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 詞 uses 言, meaning speech, and 司 to show how it was pronounced; the simplified 词 is a shorthand, and its right side is not the historical sound part.

Open 词 →

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.