The Chinese word "大提琴" (dàtíqín) for "cello" is a semantically constructed compound that directly translates and describes the instrument's key characteristics: "大" (dà) means "big" or "large," "提" (tí) means "to carry" or "to lift" (referring to the fact it is held between the knees, lifted from the ground, unlike the double bass), and "琴" (qín) is a general classifier for stringed instruments. Thus, the term literally means "large lift-string-instrument," effectively creating a calque that distinguishes it from the smaller violin ("小提琴," xiǎotíqín, or "small lift-string-instrument") and the viola ("中提琴," zhōngtíqín, or "middle lift-string-instrument") within the same family.