歌曲 (gē qǔ) — song | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

歌曲 (gēqǔ) means 'song' as a complete, often published piece (the kind you'd title or buy). Plain 歌 is the everyday generic word for 'song' as a concept. 曲 leans toward the music/melody itself.

noun

song

Measure word · 首

Examples

歌曲。
Zhè shì yì shǒu hěn liú xíng de gē qǔ.
This is a very popular song.
歌曲。
Wǒ měi tiān dōu huì tīng jǐ shǒu gē qǔ.
I listen to several songs every day.
歌曲。
Tā chàng le yì shǒu yīng yǔ gē qǔ.
She sang an English song.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

“歌” and “曲” both refer to a sung piece, together naming a song.

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.

哥欠歌

Meaning part形符xíngfú

欠欠qiànblow

Sound part声符shēngfú

哥

哥gē歌gē

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.

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

曲 is drawn as a bent object, matching the meaning 'bend'.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 5 Music 2000 Most Frequent Chinese Words 3000 Most Frequent Chinese Words 5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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