走调 (zǒu diào) — to be out of tune (in singing or playing music) | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

走调 (zǒu diào) means 'to be out of tune' when singing or playing an instrument — a separable verb (走 … 调) describing pitch going wrong mid-performance.

verb

to be out of tune (in singing or playing music)

Examples

走调，。
Tā chàng gē jīng cháng zǒu diào, dà jiā dōu xí guàn le.
He often sings out of tune; everyone is used to it.
，。
Zhè shǒu gē tài nán le, wǒ chàng dào zuì hòu jī hū zǒu le tiáo.
This song is too hard; by the end I was almost out of tune.
。
Tā tán gāng qín shí bù xiǎo xīn zǒu le yí gè yīn diào.
He accidentally went a note out of tune while playing the piano.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

走 conveys going off, and 调 names the tune that is affected.

Characters in this word

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

The original shape showed a running man, with a foot added later.

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.

言周調

Meaning part形符xíngfú

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.

Appears in

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