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歌舞 (gē wǔ) — singing and dancing (as a combined performance form)

Definition

歌舞 is the compound noun for 'song and dance' as one combined art form. Distinct from 舞蹈, which is dance alone, and 舞, which is the verb/noun just for dancing.

noun
singing and dancing (as a combined performance form)
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 歌舞。
    gē wǔ Biǎo yǎn ràng rén yìn xiàng shēn kè.
    The song and dance performance left a deep impression.
  • 歌舞。
    Tā shì yí wèi zhuān yè de gē wǔ yǎn yuán.
    She is a professional song and dance performer.
  • 歌舞。
    gē wǔ Shì chuán tǒng wén huà zhōng zhòng yào de bù fen.
    Song and dance is an important part of traditional culture.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

歌gēsing
舞wǔdance

歌 (sing) and 舞 (dance) together name a singing-and-dancing performance.

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 →

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
舛舛chuǎnsteps, feet in convergent direction
Sound part声符shēngfú
無
無wú舞wǔ
Same sound today

舞 combines 舛, showing feet in converging steps, with 無 above. 無 gave the sound and also preserved its older meaning of dancing, so the shape points to dancing.

Open 舞 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Dance & PerformanceMusic

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