歌单 (gē chán) — playlist, song list

Definition

A list of songs, usually saved in a music app or on paper so you can play or share them later. Distinguish from 歌本, which is a printed book of sheet music.

noun
playlistsong list

Examples

  • 歌单。
    Wǒ zuó wǎn zuò le yí gè xīn de gē chán.
    I made a new playlist last night.
  • 歌单。
    Zhè ge gē chán lǐ de gē dōu hěn hǎo tīng.
    All the songs in this playlist are very nice to listen to.
  • 歌单？
    Nǐ néng bǎ zhè shǒu jiā jìn nǐ de gē chán ma?
    Can you add this song to your playlist?

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.

歌gēsong
单dānlist

歌 (song) and 单 (list) combine to mean a list of songs.

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
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.

Open 歌 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 單; 单 is its simplified writing.

The form 單 originally pictured a Y-shaped wooden stick with two stones on top.

Open 单 →

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