升调 (shēng diào) — rising tone (in phonetics); rising intonation

Definition

升调 (shēngdiào) is the technical term for a rising tone in phonetics, contrasted here with 降调 (falling tone). It also covers rising intonation at the end of a question.

noun
rising tone (in phonetics)rising intonation
Easily confused

Examples

  • ，升调。
    Hàn yǔ yǔ yīn zhōng, shēng diào yǔ jiàng diào yí yàng zhòng yào.
    In Chinese phonetics, a rising tone is as important as a falling tone.
  • 升调。
    Yí wèn jù wǎng wǎng yǐ shēng diào jié wěi.
    Interrogative sentences often end with a rising intonation.
  • 升调。
    Xué xí shēng diào shí yào zhù yì shēng dài de zhèn dòng.
    When learning the rising tone, you must pay attention to the vibration of the vocal cords.

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.

升shēngrise
调tiáotone

升调 combines rise and tone, naming a rising tone or intonation.

Characters in this word

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

The shape comes from a drawing of a standard dipper used to measure one 升.

Open 升 →

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 調; 调 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
言言yán
Sound part声符shēngfú
周
周zhōu調tiáo
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 調 pairs 言 (speech) with 周, which shows how it was pronounced. The simplified 调 is a later shorthand.

Open 调 →

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