HSK · Level 123
47 words
Chinese word
抑扬顿挫
Pronunciation
Pinyinyì yáng dùn cuò
Meaning
- nounintonation
Example
老师要求我们练习抑扬顿挫，说得更自然。lǎo shī yāo qiú wǒ men liàn xí yì yáng dùn cuò shuō de gèng zì rán
The teacher asked us to practice our intonation and speak more naturally.
More examples
他的朗读没有抑扬顿挫，听起来很单调。tā de lǎng dú méi yǒu yì yáng dùn cuò tīng qǐ lái hěn dān diào
His reading had no variation in intonation, so it sounded very monotonous.
Core concept
The changing vocal contour that carries a sentence through rises, falls, emphasis, and measured breaks instead of a flat stream.
Common phrases
有抑扬顿挫yǒu yì yáng dùn cuò
have varied intonation
抑扬顿挫的语调yì yáng dùn cuò de yǔ diào
varied intonation
Similar words
语调yǔ diào: Variation in the voice's pitch and tone during speech.
节奏jié zòu: The rhythm of speech formed by its speed, timing, and pauses.
语气yǔ qì: The attitude or emotion expressed through the tone of speech.
Definition in Chinese
指说话或朗读时，通过高低、强弱、节奏和停顿等变化使语句富有起伏和表现力的语调现象。zhǐ shuō huà huò lǎng dú shí tōng guò gāo dī qiáng ruò jié zòu hé tíng dùn děng biàn huà shǐ yǔ jù fù yǒu qǐ fú hé biǎo xiàn lì de yǔ diào xiàn xiàng
Word origin
The four-character expression is built from 抑 (yì, "lower") + 扬 (yáng, "raise") + 顿 (dùn, "pause") + 挫 (cuò, "weaken"), combining contrasts in pitch with breaks in delivery.
Usage tips
- A grammatically correct sentence can still sound unnatural when every word receives equal timing and force, so spoken Chinese needs attention to vocal shape as well as vocabulary.
Other meanings
- inflectionnoun