民谣 (mín yáo) — folk songs; folk rhymes

Definition

民谣 (mín yáo) refers specifically to folk songs passed down among ordinary people, often reflecting local life and stories. Counted with 首.

noun

folk songsfolk rhymes

Measure word · 首

民谣。
Tā shōu jí le xǔ duō dì fāng mín yáo.
He collected many local folk songs.
民谣。
Zhè shǒu mín yáo jiǎng shù le yí gè gǔ lǎo de chuán shuō.
This folk song tells an ancient legend.
民谣。
mín yáo Yīn yuè fǎn yìng le pǔ tōng rén de shēng huó.
Folk music reflects the lives of ordinary people.

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 the people and 谣 means a ballad, so the sense is songs or rhymes belonging to 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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 謠; 谣 is its simplified writing.

言䍃謠

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

䍃

䍃䍃謠yáo

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 謠 puts 言, meaning speech, beside 䍃, which supplies the sound; the simplified 谣 is a later shorthand.

Appears in