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交响曲 (jiāo xiǎng qǔ) — symphony

Definition

noun
symphony

Examples

  • 交响曲。
    Zuó tiān wǒ tīng le yì chǎng bèi duō fēn de jiāo xiǎng qǔ.
    Yesterday I listened to a symphony by Beethoven.
  • 交响曲。
    Zhè shǒu jiāo xiǎng qǔ yóu zhù míng zhǐ huī jiā zhǐ huī.
    This symphony is conducted by a famous conductor.
  • 交响曲。
    jiāo xiǎng qǔ Tōng cháng yǒu sì gè yuè zhāng.
    A symphony usually has four movements.

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.

交响interweaving sounds
交jiāointerweave响xiǎngsound
偏正Modifier + head
曲qǔmusical piece

'交响' interweaving sounds and '曲' musical piece form the name for a symphony.

Characters in this word

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

交 originally drew a human with crossed legs. In the modern shape, the upper part resembles a standing person.

Open 交 →

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 響; 响 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
音音yīnsound
Sound part声符shēngfú
鄉
鄉xiāng響xiǎng
Same sound today

The traditional form 響 pairs 音, meaning sound, with 鄉 to give its pronunciation. The simplified 响 is a later shorthand, so its visible parts are not the historical parts.

Open 响 →

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'.

Open 曲 →
Appears in
Music

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