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韵律 (yùn lǜ) — rhythm (in poetry, music, or speech); prosody; rules of rhyming and meter; rhyme scheme; metrical pattern

Definition

Literary term for the rhythmic patterns of verse and speech — meter, rhyme scheme, and cadence. Pairs with 节奏 (general rhythm in music/movement) but applies specifically to poetry's formal patterns of sound.

noun
rhythm (in poetry, music, or speech)prosodyrules of rhyming and meterrhyme schememetrical pattern

Examples

  • 韵律，。
    Zhè shǒu shī de yùn lǜ fēi cháng yōu měi, dú qǐ lái lǎng lǎng shàng kǒu.
    The rhythm of this poem is very beautiful and reads smoothly.
  • 韵律。
    Gǔ diǎn shī cí jiǎng jiu yùn lǜ yǔ duì zhàng.
    Classical poetry emphasizes prosody and parallelism.
  • 韵律，。
    Xiàn dài zì yóu shī suī rán zài xíng shì shàng bú shòu yùn lǜ xiàn zhì, dàn yī rán zhù zhòng nèi zài jié zòu.
    Although modern free verse is not constrained by rhyme schemes, it still pays attention to internal rhythm.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

韵yùnrhyme
律lǜrule/pattern

韵 concerns rhyme, 律 concerns regulated pattern, so together they name the rhythm of verse or music.

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 韻; 韵 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
音音yīn
Sound part声符shēngfú
員
員yuán韻yùn
Same sound today

The traditional form 韻 pairs 音, meaning sound, with 員 to give its sound; the simplified 韵 is a later shorthand, not made of those original parts.

Open 韵 →

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
彳彳chì
Sound part声符shēngfú
聿
聿yù律lǜ
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

律 puts 彳 beside 聿: 彳 is the part tied to the meaning, and 聿 is the part tied to the sound.

Open 律 →
Appears in
Literature & PoetryMusic

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