钢琴曲 (gāng qín qǔ) — piano piece; piano music

Definition

noun

piano piecepiano music

钢琴曲。
Tā tán le yì shǒu yōu měi de gāng qín qǔ.
He played a beautiful piano piece.
钢琴曲。
Wǒ měi tiān shuì jiào qián dōu xǐ huan tīng gāng qín qǔ.
I like to listen to piano music every day before I sleep.
钢琴曲。
Zhè shǒu gāng qín qǔ shì tā zuì zhù míng de zuò pǐn.
This piano piece is his most famous work.

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.

钢琴piano

偏正Modifier + head

钢琴, piano, and 曲, tune, form a piece for the piano.

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 鋼; 钢 is its simplified writing.

金岡鋼

Meaning part形符xíngfú

金金jīnmetal

Sound part声符shēngfú

岡

岡gāng鋼gàng

Same sound today

The traditional form 鋼 shows 金, meaning metal, next to 岡, which carries the sound gāng; the simplified 钢 is a later shorthand.

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

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.

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

曲 is drawn as a bent object, matching the meaning 'bend'.