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音域 (yīn yù) — (music) range, compass, register (of a voice or instrument)

Definition

A music term for the full range of notes a voice or instrument can produce, from lowest to highest. Distinct from 音调 (pitch of a single tone in spoken Chinese) and 音色 (timbre/quality of a sound).

noun
(music) rangecompassregister (of a voice or instrument)
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 音域。
    Tā de yīn yù hěn kuān.
    His vocal range is very wide.
  • 音域。
    Zhè shǒu gē de yīn yù biàn huà hěn dà.
    The range of this song varies a lot.
  • 音域。
    Tā de yīn yù cóng dī yīn dào gāo yīn dōu hěn wán měi.
    Her range from low to high notes is perfect.

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.

音yīnsound
域yùrange

音 as sound and 域 as range combine to name the span of a voice or instrument.

Characters in this word

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.

Open 音 →

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
土土tǔ
Sound part声符shēngfú
或
或huò域yù
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

域 uses 土, earth or soil, to show it is about land, and 或 to suggest its pronunciation.

Open 域 →
Appears in
Music

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