欢歌 (huān gē) — to sing joyfully (formal/literary) | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

A formal/literary verb meaning 'to sing joyfully,' used in writing or festive contexts rather than everyday speech. Often paired with 载舞 ('singing and dancing') in set phrases.

verb

to sing joyfully (formal/literary)

Examples

，欢歌。
Rén men zài gē zài wǔ, huān gē qìng zhù jié rì.
People sang and danced, joyfully celebrating the festival.
，欢歌，。
Wǎn huì shàng, dà jiā jìn qíng huān gē, qì fen rè liè.
At the party, everyone sang joyfully to their heart's content, and the atmosphere was lively.
欢歌。
Zhè shǒu gē biǎo dá le rén men duì měi hǎo shēng huó de huān gē.
This song expresses people's joyful singing about a beautiful life.

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.

欢 brings joy, and 歌 means singing, so together they describe singing joyfully.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 歡; 欢 is its simplified writing.

雚欠歡

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

雚

雚guàn歡huān

Same sound today

The traditional form 歡 uses 雚 for the sound and 欠 for the meaning; the simplified 欢 is a later shorthand, so its parts do not carry that history.

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

哥欠歌

Meaning part形符xíngfú

欠欠qiànblow

Sound part声符shēngfú

哥

哥gē歌gē

Same sound today

The shape 歌 uses 哥 for the sound and 欠, meaning blow. It came from a form of 哥 used for singing.

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