重音 (zhòng yīn) — (linguistics) stress, accent; (music) accent | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

A linguistics/music term for the syllable or beat that is emphasized — 'stress' on a word or 'accent' on a beat. It refers only to the prominence pattern, not to a speaker's accent (口音).

noun

(linguistics) stressaccent(music) accent

Examples

重音。
Zhè ge cí de zhòng yīn zài dì yī gè yīn jié.
The stress of this word is on the first syllable.
重音。
Zhè shǒu gē qǔ de zhòng yīn zài dì sān pāi.
The accent of this song is on the third beat.
，重音。
Xué xí wài yǔ shí, zhǎng wò zhòng yīn de guī lǜ hěn zhòng yào.
When learning a foreign language, mastering the rules of stress is very important.

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.

重 (heavy) and 音 (sound) form a heavy or stressed sound.

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

Sound part声符shēngfú

東

東dōng重zhòng

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

重 developed from a picture of a man carrying a bag, with 人 for the man and 東 for the bag; a later ground element was folded into the form.

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

音 adds a short stroke that seals the mouth-like part, showing a covered or muffled sound rather than speech.

Appears in

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