铃声 (líng shēng) — ringing of a bell; ringtone

Definition

noun

ringing of a bellringtone

Measure word · 阵

Examples

铃声，。
Shǒu jī líng shēng xiǎng le, nǐ kuài jiē diàn huà.
Your phone's ringtone went off — answer it quickly.
铃声，。
Shàng kè de líng shēng yì xiǎng, dà jiā lì kè huí dào zuò wèi shàng.
As soon as the class bell rang, everyone immediately went back to their seats.
铃声。
Tā bǎ zuì xǐ huan de gē shè zhì chéng le shǒu jī líng shēng.
She set her favorite song as her phone's ringtone.

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.

铃língbell

声shēngsound

铃 is a bell and 声 is sound, so 铃声 is the sound made by a bell.

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 鈴; 铃 is its simplified writing.

金令鈴

Meaning part形符xíngfú

金金jīn

Sound part声符shēngfú

令

令lìng鈴líng

Same sound today

The traditional form 鈴 pairs 金 (metal) with 令 as a sound part; the simplified 铃 is a later abbreviation, so its parts are not the historical components.

Open 铃 →

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 聲; 声 is its simplified writing.

殸耳聲

Meaning part形符xíngfú

耳耳ěrear

Sound part声符shēngfú

殸

殸qìng聲shēng

Same sound today

The traditional form 聲 pairs 耳 (ear) with 殸 as a sound part; the simplified 声 is a shorthand and does not show those original parts.

Open 声 →