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单调 (dān diào) — monotonous

Definition

单调 describes lack of variety — a dull, unchanging situation, color, sound, or life. Don't confuse with 单边 ('one-sided', as in a unilateral decision): 单调 is about sameness, not about one side.

adjective
monotonous

Examples

  • ，单调。
    Měi tiān zuò tóng yàng de shì qing, shēng huó hěn dān diào.
    Doing the same things every day, life is monotonous.
  • 单调。
    Zhè ge cài de yán sè hé wèi dào dōu hěn dān diào.
    The color and flavor of this dish are both monotonous.
  • 单调，。
    Zhè shǒu qǔ zi tīng qǐ lái hěn dān diào, méi yǒu biàn huà.
    This piece of music sounds monotonous with no variation.

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.

单dānsingle
调tiáotune/tone

单 means single, and 调 means tune or tone; a single tone makes something sound or feel monotonous.

Characters in this word

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 單; 单 is its simplified writing.

The form 單 originally pictured a Y-shaped wooden stick with two stones on top.

Open 单 →

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 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 6HSK 2.0 Level 5Good & Bad

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