大调 (dà diào) — major key (in music) | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

Music term for 'major key'. The opposite of 小调 (xiǎo diào, minor key); major keys are usually described as bright, minor keys as somber or sad.

noun

major key (in music)

大调。
Zhè shǒu qǔ zi shì yòng dà diào chuàng zuò de.
This piece was composed in a major key.
，大调。
Zài yīn yuè zhōng, dà diào tōng cháng tīng qǐ lái bǐ jiào míng liàng.
In music, a major key usually sounds brighter.
大调。
Tā xǐ huan tán zòu dà diào de gāng qín qǔ.
He likes to play piano pieces in a major key.

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.

大dàbig/major

大 “big/major” and 调 “tune/mode” give the major musical mode.

Characters in this word

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

The form 大 is a picture of a person standing and facing forward, not of someone stretching their arms.

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.

言周調

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

周

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.

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