歌

謌

gē

哥 + 欠

HSK 3.0Level 1

Definitions

gē (noun) song

gē (verb) to sing

Etymology

Originally depicted a person carrying an axe while singing. Now a phonosemantic compound. 欠 (pictograph of a person opening their mouth) represents the meaning and 哥 represents the sound.

Semantic: 欠 Phonetic: 哥

About

歌 originally depicted a person carrying an axe while singing, but the modern character is a phonosemantic compound. The right-side component 欠, a pictograph of a person with an open mouth exhaling, contributes the meaning of vocal actions. The left-side component 哥 (now meaning "older brother") provides the sound. Together they denote producing musical sounds with the mouth. The character means a song, a chant, or the act of singing, and it appears in contexts of vocal performance and lyrical poetry.

Etymology Hide

Bronze etymology image

Bronze Late Spring and Autumn (~500 BC)

Bronze etymology image

Bronze Early Warring States (~400 BC)

Seal etymology image

Seal Chu (Warring States: 475-221 BC)

Seal etymology image

Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)

Seal etymology image

Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)

Clerical etymology image

Clerical Qin dynasty (221-206 BC)

Clerical etymology image

Clerical Western Han dynasty (202 BC-9 AD)

Clerical etymology image

Clerical Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)

Clerical etymology image

Clerical Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)

Traditional Modern

Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

我喜欢唱这首歌。

Wǒ xǐhuān chàng zhè shǒu gē.

I like to sing this song.

她每天练习唱这首歌。

Tā měitiān liànxí chàng zhè shǒu gē.

She practices singing this song every day.

这首歌的旋律很优美。

Zhè shǒu gē de xuánlǜ hěn yōuměi.

The melody of this song is very beautiful.

他正在听一首流行歌曲。

Tā zhèngzài tīng yī shǒu liúxíng gēqǔ.

He is listening to a pop song.

我写了一些歌词来表达心情。

Wǒ xiěle yīxiē gēcí lái biǎodá xīnqíng.

I wrote some song lyrics to express my feelings.

她的歌声打动了所有听众。

Tā de gēshēng dǎdòngle suǒyǒu tīngzhòng.

Her singing voice moved all the listeners.

音乐会以一首著名的民歌结束。

Yīnyuèhuì yǐ yī shǒu zhùmíng de míngē jiéshù.

The concert ended with a famous folk song.

这不仅仅是一首歌，更是我们共同的回忆。

Zhè bù jǐnjǐn shì yī shǒu gē, gèng shì wǒmen gòngtóng de huíyì.

This is not just a song, but also our shared memory.

Related Characters

Component: 哥

Component: 欠

Example Words