歌 gē / ge1ge5 — song
同学们一起唱起了生日歌。Tóng xué men yì qǐ chàng qǐ le shēng rì gē.The classmates sang the birthday song together.
Common words: 唱歌 (chàng gē)、歌手 (gē shǒu)、歌声 (gē shēng)
Meaning Index
Chinese characters meaning "song"
Learn Chinese characters with the meaning "song", including 歌 (gē / ge1ge5), 曲 (qū / qǔ). Study pinyin, English meanings, traditional forms, common words…
How to Study This Meaning Group
The English word "song" covers 2 different Chinese characters — 歌 (gē / ge1ge5), 曲 (qū / qǔ) — and each is its own word with its own feel. These 2 characters do not share a sound — their readings span gē, ge1ge5, qū, qǔ — so confirm the pinyin and tone for each one separately. The example sentences further down show how 歌 and the others are actually used, so you learn them in context rather than as a single translation.
- 歌 gē / ge1ge5songUseful words: 唱歌, 歌手
- 曲 qū / qǔbent; crooked; wrong; tune; songUseful words: 歌曲, 弯曲
Common words for these 2 "song" characters
Anchor each of these 2 characters in a word you can picture — start with 歌 (gē / ge1ge5) — so "song" turns into concrete usage instead of a one-to-one translation.
See each character in a sentence
Each character below is shown in a short example sentence with pinyin and an English translation — the quickest way to feel the difference between the 2 ways to say "song".
曲 qū / qǔ — bent; crooked; wrong; tune; song
她弹奏了一首优美的曲子。Tā tán zòu le yì shǒu yōu měi de qǔ zi.She played a beautiful tune.
Common words: 歌曲 (gē qǔ)、弯曲 (wān qū)、曲子 (qǔ zi)
All 2 characters
Open 歌、曲 or any character below to hear it read aloud and see it used in an example sentence.