颂歌 (sòng gē) — song of praise, hymn, ode | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

A formal, often literary song or poem praising a person, event, or ideal — a 'hymn' or 'ode'. More elevated and ceremonial than a simple 歌.

noun

song of praisehymnode

Measure word · 首

Examples

颂歌。
Zhè shǒu sòng gē gē sòng le zǔ guó de wěi dà.
This song of praise extols the greatness of the motherland.
，颂歌。
Zài qìng diǎn shàng, tā men chàng qǐ le yì shǒu sòng gē.
At the ceremony, they sang a song of praise.
颂歌。
Máo zé dōng shí qī de sòng gē chōng mǎn le gé mìng jī qíng.
The songs of praise from the Mao Zedong era were full of revolutionary passion.

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.

颂 means praise and 歌 means song; together they name a song of praise or hymn.

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 頌; 颂 is its simplified writing.

公頁頌

Meaning part形符xíngfú

頁頁yèhead

Sound part声符shēngfú

公

公gōng頌sòng

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 頌 pairs 公 for the sound with 頁, meaning head.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

哥欠歌

Meaning part形符xíngfú

欠欠qiànblow

Sound part声符shēngfú

哥

哥gē歌gē

Same sound today

The shape 歌 uses 哥 for the sound and 欠, meaning blow. It came from a form of 哥 used for singing.

Appears in

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