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伴奏 (bàn zòu) — to accompany (musically)

Definition

伴奏 is specifically the musical sense: playing or singing background support for a soloist or singer. Unlike the general 陪伴/伴随, it is restricted to music performance.

verb
to accompany (musically)

Examples

  • 伴奏。
    Zhè wèi gāng qín jiā jīng cháng wèi hé chàng tuán bàn zòu.
    This pianist often accompanies the choir.
  • 伴奏？
    Nǐ néng wèi wǒ bàn zòu zhè shǒu qǔ zi ma?
    Can you accompany me on this piece of music?
  • 伴奏。
    Tā shàn cháng yòng diàn zǐ qín gěi liú xíng gē qǔ bàn zòu.
    He is good at accompanying pop songs with an electronic keyboard.

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.

伴bànaccompany
奏zòuplay music

伴 means to accompany and 奏 means to play music; the word describes supporting a performance musically.

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
亻Written in full as人rén
Sound part声符shēngfú
半
半bàn伴bàn
Same sound today

伴 puts 亻 (person) beside 半. The person part fits the meaning of companion, and 半 gives the sound.

Open 伴 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

The shape of 奏 pictures hands holding an object, perhaps an instrument used in a ritual, or hands collecting resin dripping from a cut tree.

Open 奏 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Music

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