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婉转 (wǎn zhuǎn) — (of voice, music) sweet, mellow, melodious; (of speech, expression) indirect, tactful, euphemistic

Definition

Adjective with two distinct uses: describing voice or music as sweet and mellow, and describing speech as tactful and indirect rather than blunt. Both senses share a sense of softness and gentle smoothness.

adjective
(of voice, music) sweetmellowmelodious(of speech, expression) indirecttactfuleuphemistic

Examples

  • 婉转，。
    Tā de gē shēng wǎn zhuǎn dòng tīng, ràng rén táo zuì.
    Her singing is sweet and melodious, intoxicating the listener.
  • 婉转，。
    Tā shuō huà hěn wǎn zhuǎn, bú huì zhí jiē pī píng bié rén.
    He speaks very tactfully and never criticizes others directly.
  • 婉转，。
    Zhè shǒu qǔ zi xuán lǜ wǎn zhuǎn, tīng le ràng rén xīn qíng píng jìng.
    The melody of this piece is mellow, bringing a sense of calm when listened to.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

婉wǎnsoft
转zhuǎnwinding

婉 contributes softness and 转 contributes a winding, indirect sense, together giving a smooth tone or tactful wording.

Characters in this word

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 婉 →

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 轉; 转 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
車車jūcarriage
Sound part声符shēngfú
專
專zhuān轉zhuǎn
Same sound today

The traditional form 轉 combines 車, a carriage, with 專 as a sound part; the simplified 转 is a later shorthand.

Open 转 →
Appears in
Communication & SpeechMusic

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