TongTong
Sign in

谐音 (xié yīn) — (noun) homophony; words that sound the same but have different meanings; (noun) harmonics; overtones in music

Definition

In Chinese studies, 谐音 names the pun-like phenomenon of two characters sharing a pronunciation but having different meanings (like 是 and 事). In music, it refers to the overtones that color a note's timbre.

noun
homophonywords that sound the same but have different meaningsharmonicsovertones in music

Examples

  • 谐音，“”“”。
    Zhōng wén lǐ yǒu hěn duō xié yīn zì, bǐ rú "shì" hé "shì".
    In Chinese there are many homophonic characters, like 'shì' (是) and 'shì' (事).
  • 谐音。
    Xiǎo tí qín de yīn sè bāo hán fēng fù de xié yīn.
    The timbre of a violin contains rich harmonics.
  • 谐音。
    Zhè shǒu shī de xié yīn hěn měi.
    The euphony of this poem is very beautiful.

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.

谐xiéharmonious
音yīnsound

谐 (harmonious) describes 音 (sound), giving sounds that match or agree.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 諧; 谐 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
言言yánspeech
Sound part声符shēngfú
皆
皆jiē諧xié
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 諧 combines 言, meaning speech, with 皆 as a sound part; the simplified 谐 is a later abbreviation.

Open 谐 →

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

音 adds a short stroke that seals the mouth-like part, showing a covered or muffled sound rather than speech.

Open 音 →
Appears in
Language

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.