情歌 (qíng gē) — love song

Definition

noun
love song
Measure word ·

Examples

  • 情歌
    Wǒ tè bié xǐ huan tīng qíng gē.
    I really like listening to love songs.
  • 情歌
    Tā xiě le yì shǒu qíng gē sòng gěi nǚ péng you.
    He wrote a love song for his girlfriend.
  • 情歌
    Zhè shǒu qíng gē zài nián qīng rén zhōng hěn liú xíng.
    This love song is very popular among young people.

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.

情 ('love') and 歌 ('song') combine to mean a song about love.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
xīnheart
Sound part声符shēngfú
qīngqíng
Same sound today

情 shows 心 (heart) beside 青, which gives the sound. The heart part points to feelings and inner states.

Open 情 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
qiànblow
Sound part声符shēngfú
Same sound today

The shape 歌 uses 哥 for the sound and 欠, meaning blow. It came from a form of 哥 used for singing.

Open 歌 →

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