低音 (dī yīn) — low-pitch sound; deep tone; (music) bass (male)… | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

Literally 'low sound' (低音 vs 高音), covering both deep-pitched sound in general and the bass/contralto voice range in music.

noun

low-pitch sounddeep tone(music) bass (male) or contralto (female) voice part

Examples

低音。
Zhè ge yīn xiāng de dī yīn xiào guǒ hěn hǎo.
The bass effect of this speaker is very good.
低音。
Tā zài hé chàng tuán chàng dī yīn.
He sings bass in the choir.
低音。
Zhè ge yuè duì de dī yīn bù fen hěn qiáng.
This band's bass part is very strong.

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.

低 describes 音 as low in pitch, so 低音 is a deep or bass tone.

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.

亻氐低

Meaning part形符xíngfú

亻Written in full as人rénman, person

Sound part声符shēngfú

氐

氐dī低dī

Same sound today

In 低, the left side 亻 is a person, and the right side 氐 gives the sound; the image is a person lowering or bowing themselves.

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.

Appears in

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