轻音乐 (qīng yīn yuè) — light music

Definition

noun
light music
Measure word · 首

Examples

  • 轻音乐。
    Wǒ měi tiān wǎn shàng dōu tīng yí huì r qīng yīn yuè lái fàng sōng xīn qíng.
    I listen to light music for a while every evening to relax.
  • 轻音乐。
    Zhè jiā kā fēi tīng bō fàng de qīng yīn yuè ràng rén gǎn dào fēi cháng shū shì.
    The light music playing in this café makes people feel very comfortable.
  • 轻音乐，。
    qīng yīn yuè De xuán lǜ yōu měi, shì hé zài yuè dú shí zuò wéi bèi jǐng yīn yuè.
    Light music has beautiful melodies and is suitable as background music while reading.

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.

轻qīnglight
音乐music
音yīnsound乐lèmusic
联合Side by side

轻 gives lightness, while 音 and 乐 together name music; the whole means light music.

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 輕; 轻 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
車車jūcarriage
Sound part声符shēngfú
巠
巠jīng輕qīng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 輕 pairs 車, a carriage, with 巠 to give the sound; it originally named a light carriage. The simplified 轻 is only a later shorthand.

Open 轻 →

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 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 樂; 乐 is its simplified writing.

In the traditional form 樂, 絲 (string) with 木 (wood) shows strings on a piece of wood, a musical instrument; the simplified 乐 is a later shorthand.

Open 乐 →

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