民歌 (mín gē) — folk song | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

民歌 is a folk song rooted in a specific region or ethnic tradition, often reflecting local culture. Compared to 歌曲 (a general 'song'), 民歌 stresses its folk/cultural origin.

noun

folk song

Measure word · 支, 首

Examples

民歌。
Wǒ mā ma hěn xǐ huan chàng mín gē.
My mother really likes singing folk songs.
民歌。
Nà zhī mín gē lái zì yún nán.
That folk song comes from Yunnan.
民歌。
Hěn duō mín gē fǎn yìng le dāng dì de wén huà.
Many folk songs reflect the local culture.

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.

民 means people and 歌 means song, together denoting songs of the people.

Characters in this word

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

The early form of 民 shows an eye pierced by a sharp cross-shaped implement, possibly linked to an injured or unclear eye.

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.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 6 Music

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