声 shēng — sound; voice; (a measure word; used for sounds); tone; noise
我听见了鸟叫的声音。Wǒ tīng jiàn le niǎo jiào de shēng yīn.I heard the sound of birds singing.
Common words: 声音 (shēng yīn)、大声 (dà shēng)、小声 (xiǎo shēng)
Meaning Index
Chinese characters meaning "sound"
Learn Chinese characters with the meaning "sound", including 声 (shēng), 音 (yīn), 妥 (tuǒ). Study pinyin, English meanings, traditional forms, common words…
How to Study This Meaning Group
The English word "sound" covers 3 different Chinese characters — 声 (shēng), 音 (yīn), 妥 (tuǒ) — and each is its own word with its own feel. These 3 characters do not share a sound — their readings span shēng, yīn, tuǒ — so confirm the pinyin and tone for each one separately. The example sentences further down show how 声 and the others are actually used, so you learn them in context rather than as a single translation.
- 声 shēngsound; voice; (a measure word; used for sounds); tone; noiseUseful words: 声音, 大声
- 音 yīnsound; noise; newsUseful words: 音乐, 声音
- 妥 tuǒsecure; soundUseful words: 妥协, 妥善
Common words for these 3 "sound" characters
Anchor each of these 3 characters in a word you can picture — start with 声 (shēng) — so "sound" 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 3 ways to say "sound".
音 yīn — sound; noise; news
这个字的发音有点儿难。Zhè ge zì de fā yīn yǒu diǎnr nán.The pronunciation of this character is a bit difficult.
Common words: 音乐 (yīn yuè)、声音 (shēng yīn)、音乐会 (yīn yuè huì)
妥 tuǒ — secure; sound
这件事已经处理妥当了。Zhè jiàn shì yǐ jīng chǔ lǐ tuǒ dàng le.This matter has been properly handled.
Common words: 妥协 (tuǒ xié)、妥善 (tuǒ shàn)、妥当 (tuǒ dang)
All 3 characters
Open 声、音、妥 or any character below to hear it read aloud and see it used in an example sentence.