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小调 (xiǎo diào) — (noun) folk tune, ditty; (noun) minor key (music)

Definition

小调 covers two senses: a short folk song or tune (like a ditty), or a musical minor key. The first sense is everyday; the second is technical music vocabulary for key signature.

noun
folk tunedittyminor key (music)
Measure word · 首

Examples

  • 小调，。
    Zhè shǒu jiāng nán xiǎo diào xuán lǜ yōu měi, liú chuán hěn guǎng.
    This Jiangnan folk tune has a beautiful melody and is widely spread.
  • 小调，。
    Zhè shǒu qǔ zi shì yòng xiǎo diào xiě de, tīng qǐ lái yǒu xiē yōu shāng.
    This piece is written in a minor key and sounds somewhat sad.
  • 小调。
    Tā xǐ huan zài qīng chén hēng chàng yì xiē mín jiān xiǎo diào.
    She likes to hum some folk tunes in the early morning.

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.

小xiǎosmall
调tiáotune or key

小 means small and 调 means tune, giving a little folk tune; in music, small and tune name the minor key.

Characters in this word

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

  • 八八bāto divide; to separate
  • 丨丨gǔnsmall object

The shape of 小 comes from three small dots, later elongated into its strokes; the apparent parts 八 and 丨 are a later way of seeing it.

Open 小 →

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
Music

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