音律 (yīn lǜ) — (music) temperament, tuning system; (linguistics/literature) meter, prosody

Definition

A formal term for 'tuning system / temperament' in music, and 'meter / prosody' in poetry. Used in academic and literary contexts rather than everyday speech.

noun
(music) temperamenttuning system(linguistics/literature) meterprosody

Examples

  • 音律。
    Shí èr píng jūn yīn lǜ shì xiàn dài yīn yuè de jī chǔ.
    Twelve-tone equal temperament is the foundation of modern music.
  • 音律。
    Zhè shǒu shī de yīn lǜ fēi cháng yōu měi.
    The meter of this poem is very beautiful.
  • 音律。
    Yán jiū gǔ dài yīn lǜ xū yào liǎo jiě lì shǐ bèi jǐng.
    Studying ancient temperament requires understanding the historical context.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéSide by side

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

音yīnsound
律lǜpitch regulation

“音” refers to sound and “律” to pitch or regulation, giving a system of musical sounds.

Characters in this word

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 →

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
彳彳chì
Sound part声符shēngfú
聿
聿yù律lǜ
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

律 puts 彳 beside 聿: 彳 is the part tied to the meaning, and 聿 is the part tied to the sound.

Open 律 →

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