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字源zìyuánEtymology & Structure
字源洞见 zìyuán dòngjiàn · Etymological Insight
歌 splits cleanly into two parts: 歌 = 哥 + 欠. The right side, 欠 (qiàn), is the radical and carries the meaning. It pictures a kneeling person with a wide-open mouth, breath streaming out, the same body that supplies the breathy throat-sounds in 吹 (to blow) and 欢 (to be glad). On the left, 哥 (gē) is pure sound: it hands the whole character its gē reading and nothing of its meaning. This is a textbook pictophonetic: 欠 is semantic, and 哥 is the phonetic.
The Shuōwén Jiězì glosses 歌 as 詠 (yǒng), to draw a sound out long, and lists a variant 謌 written with the 言 (speech) radical. Both versions point at the same act: voice carried on a sustained exhale. The 欠 element won out because singing is felt in the body as breath rather than as ordinary talk, so the open-mouthed exhaling figure fit better than the plain speech radical.
哥 itself doubles 可 (kě), and in older usage 哥 once meant a chanted refrain before it settled into its modern sense of elder brother. So even the phonetic side carries a faint memory of song stacked twice over. The meaning of 歌 has stayed remarkably stable: from the folk airs collected in the 诗经 (Shījīng) down to a track on a phone today, it names both the sung thing and the act of singing it.
Japanese borrows the glyph as ka / uta (歌), the uta at the heart of 和歌 (waka) court poetry; Korean reads it ga (가) in words like 가수 (gasu, singer). Across all three the kneeling exhaling mouth still does the work.
唱 (to sing aloud) plus 歌 (song). A verb-object pair, so a measure word or modifier slides into the seam: 唱一首歌 (sing one song). The most basic, neutral way to say someone is singing.
辨析 biànxī · 唱 vs. 歌 唱 is the action of voicing; 歌 is the thing voiced. You can 唱 a song, an opera line, or a scale, but only a 歌 is sung.
歌词gēcílyrics
N 名词 míngcí
歌 (song) plus 词 (words, also the term for sung Song-dynasty verse). The text of a song as distinct from its tune.
这首歌的歌词很感人。
Zhè shǒu gē de gēcí hěn gǎnrén.
This song's lyrics are very moving.
儿歌érgēnursery rhyme
N 名词 míngcí
儿 (child) plus 歌 (song). A children's song, the first 歌 most native speakers ever learn.
妈妈教孩子唱儿歌。
Māma jiāo háizi chàng érgē.
The mother teaches the child to sing nursery rhymes.
歌曲gēqǔSongs & Singers
歌曲gēqǔsong (as a work)
N 名词 míngcí
歌 (song) plus 曲 (tune, melody). 歌 leans on the lyrics, 曲 on the music; together they name a song as a finished piece. Slightly more formal than a bare 歌.
这是一首很受欢迎的歌曲。
Zhè shì yì shǒu hěn shòu huānyíng de gēqǔ.
This is a very popular song.
辨析 biànxī · 歌 vs. 歌曲 歌 is the everyday word; 歌曲 is the cataloguing word, the one used in album listings and music-app categories.
歌手gēshǒusinger
N 名词 míngcí
歌 (song) plus 手 (hand, here meaning a skilled doer, as in 选手 contestant). A professional or skilled singer, especially of popular music.
他是一位很有名的歌手。
Tā shì yí wèi hěn yǒumíng de gēshǒu.
He is a very famous singer.
辨析 biànxī · 歌手 vs. 歌唱家 歌手 covers pop and everyday performers; 歌唱家 (gēchàngjiā) marks a serious vocal artist, usually classical or operatic.
情歌qínggēlove song
N 名词 míngcí
情 (feeling, romance) plus 歌 (song). A love song, one of the most productive 歌 compounds in popular music.
他为她写了一首情歌。
Tā wèi tā xiě le yì shǒu qínggē.
He wrote her a love song.
国歌guógēAnthems & Formal Song
国歌guógēnational anthem
N 名词 míngcí
国 (nation) plus 歌 (song). The official song of a country, sung standing at ceremonies and medal podiums.
比赛前，运动员唱起了国歌。
Bǐsài qián, yùndòngyuán chàng qǐ le guógē.
Before the match, the athletes began to sing the national anthem.
民歌míngēfolk song
N 名词 míngcí
民 (the people) plus 歌 (song). A folk song handed down orally, the kind of regional air the 诗经 (Shījīng) first preserved in writing.
这首民歌来自陕北。
Zhè shǒu míngē láizì Shǎnběi.
This folk song comes from northern Shaanxi.
歌剧gējùopera
N 名词 míngcí
歌 (song) plus 剧 (drama). A sung drama; the term used for Western-style opera, as distinct from 京剧 (jīngjù) Peking opera.
我们昨晚去看了一场歌剧。
Wǒmen zuówǎn qù kàn le yì chǎng gējù.
We went to see an opera last night.
成语chéngyǔIdioms & Set Phrases
引吭高歌yǐn háng gāo gēstretch the throat and sing loudly: to sing out at full voice吭 is the throat; the image is of someone tipping the head back to let the voice carry. Used warmly for hearty, unrestrained singing.
载歌载舞zài gē zài wǔboth singing and dancing: to celebrate with song and dance载…载… is a classical frame meaning doing two things at once. Standard description of festive crowds at a 春节 (chūnjié) gala or village celebration.
四面楚歌sì miàn chǔ gēChu songs on all four sides: surrounded with no way outFrom the Shǐjì account of Xiàng Yǔ trapped at Gāixià, hearing his enemy's army sing the songs of his homeland Chǔ and realizing his men had defected. Still the standard idiom for being besieged on every front.
歌功颂德gē gōng sòng désing of deeds and praise virtue: to lavish flattering praiseHere 歌 works as a verb, to sing the praises of. Now usually critical, marking hollow or sycophantic eulogy of those in power.
记忆法 jìyìfǎ · Master Retention Image
Picture an elder brother (哥) standing at the head of a long table, head tipped back, mouth thrown wide on a held note. That open exhaling mouth is the right-hand 欠, the breath leaving the body in a sustained stream. The brother on the left supplies the gē sound; the yawning mouth on the right supplies the meaning. Hear them together: 哥 gē, mouth open, gē 歌.
Once the brother starts, the whole room joins: 唱歌 (chànggē) everyone sings, the 歌词 (gēcí) words rolling out, until the floor clears and they 载歌载舞 (zài gē zài wǔ) sing and dance at once. Every 歌 compound is just another voice pulled into that one wide-open breath, from a child's 儿歌 (érgē) to a stadium's 国歌 (guógē).
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