洋琴 (yáng qín) — Chinese hammered dulcimer (same as 扬琴) | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

洋琴 is a variant name for the 扬琴 (yángqín), a hammered dulcimer played with light bamboo mallets.

noun

Chinese hammered dulcimer (same as 扬琴)

Measure word · 架

Examples

洋琴。
Tā tán yáng qín tán dé tè bié hǎo tīng.
She plays the dulcimer really beautifully.
洋琴。
Xué huì yǎn zòu yáng qín xū yào nài xīn hé liàn xí.
Learning to play the dulcimer requires patience and practice.
洋琴。
Zhè chǎng yīn yuè huì yòng yáng qín zuò wéi zhǔ yào yuè qì.
This concert uses the dulcimer as the main instrument.

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.

洋yángforeign

琴qínstringed instrument

洋 'foreign' + 琴 'stringed instrument' names a foreign-origin dulcimer.

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.

氵羊洋

Meaning part形符xíngfú

氵Written in full as水shuǐwater

Sound part声符shēngfú

羊

羊yáng洋yáng

Same sound today

洋 pairs 氵, the water part, with 羊 to give its sound.

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

珡珡qín

Sound part声符shēngfú

今

今jīn琴qín

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

琴 pairs 珡, the part tied to its sense as a stringed instrument, with 今, which gives the sound.

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