TongTong
Sign in

隔音 (gé yīn) — soundproof (attributive); syllable-dividing (in phonetics)

Definition

Adjective and attributive noun with two distinct senses: 'soundproof' for blocking sound in rooms/glass, and 'syllable-dividing' in Pinyin (e.g., 隔音符号 the apostrophe).

adjective
soundproof (attributive)syllable-dividing (in phonetics)

Examples

  • 隔音。
    Zhè ge fáng jiān de gé yīn xiào guǒ hěn hǎo.
    This room's soundproofing effect is very good.
  • 隔音。
    Tā men yòng le gé yīn bō li lái jiǎn shǎo zào yīn.
    They used soundproof glass to reduce noise.
  • ，隔音。
    Zài hàn yǔ pīn yīn zhōng, gé yīn fú hào yòng lái fēn kāi yīn jié.
    In Hanyu Pinyin, the syllable-dividing symbol is used to separate syllables.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

隔géseparate
音yīnsound

隔 means to separate, and 音 means sound; separating sound gives a soundproof sense.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
阝Written in full as阜fùwall
Sound part声符shēngfú
鬲
鬲gé隔gé
Same sound today

隔 puts 阝, a wall, with 鬲, which gives the sound gé, to show separating with a wall.

Open 隔 →

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
Home & Housing

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