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论调 (lùn diào) — (derogatory) view, argument (used to dismiss an opinion as wrong or misguided)

Definition

论调 (lùndiào) means 'argument' or 'view' but with a built-in dismissive tone — the speaker thinks the opinion is wrong or misguided, so use it when you want to reject someone's stance.

noun
(derogatory) viewargument (used to dismiss an opinion as wrong or misguided)

Examples

  • 论调。
    Zhè zhǒng lùn diào wán quán bù fú hé shì shí.
    This kind of argument is completely inconsistent with the facts.
  • 论调，。
    Tā de lùn diào tài guò bēi guān, dà jiā dōu bú rèn tóng.
    His view is too pessimistic; nobody agrees with it.
  • 论调。
    Nà xiē fǎn duì gǎi gé de lùn diào yǐ jīng guò shí le.
    Those arguments against reform are already outdated.

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.

论lùnargument
调tiáotone

“论” gives the argument and “调” gives its tone, so it means a view or argument, often dismissively.

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 論; 论 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
言言yánsay
Sound part声符shēngfú
侖
侖lún論lùn
Same sound today

The traditional form 論 pairs 言 (“say”) with 侖 as a sound component; the simplified 论 is a later shorthand, so its parts are not the historical parts.

Open 论 →

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 調; 调 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
言言yán
Sound part声符shēngfú
周
周zhōu調tiáo
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 調 pairs 言 (speech) with 周, which shows how it was pronounced. The simplified 调 is a later shorthand.

Open 调 →
Appears in
Attitudes & Opinions

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