TongTong
Sign in

过门 (guò mén) — (noun) musical interlude or transition (in opera or song); (noun) opening bars of a piece

Definition

A music term: the short instrumental passage between sung lines in Chinese opera or a song, or the opening bars of a piece. Strictly a musical sense — unrelated to the everyday 'pass a door' or 'get married' senses of 过/guò.

noun
musical interlude or transition (in opera or song)opening bars of a piece

Examples

  • 过门。
    Zhè duàn guò mén hěn yōu měi.
    This interlude is very beautiful.
  • 过门。
    Yǎn yuán zài guò mén hòu kāi shǐ chàng.
    The actor starts singing after the interlude.
  • 过门。
    Zhè shǒu qǔ zi de guò mén hěn yǒu tè sè.
    The opening bars of this piece are very distinctive.

Origin

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 過; 过 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
辵辵chuòwalk
Sound part声符shēngfú
咼
咼wāi過guò
Same sound today

The traditional form 過 pairs 辵 (walk) with 咼 as a sound component; the simplified 过 is a shorthand, and its parts are not the historical components.

Open 过 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 門; 门 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 門 pictures a gate as two door shapes side by side; the simplified 门 is a later shorthand.

Open 门 →
Appears in
Music

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