Chinese word

旋律

Pronunciation

Pinyinxuán lǜ

Meaning

  • nounmelody

Example

他哼着旋律走进了房间。tā hēng zhe xuán lǜ zǒu jìn le fáng jiān

He hummed a melody as he walked into the room.

Illustration for 旋律 (melody)

More examples

作曲家为这首歌写了一段新的旋律。zuò qǔ jiā wèi zhè shǒu gē xiě le yí duàn xīn de xuán lǜ

The composer wrote a new melody for this song.

Core concept

A recognizable line of changing pitches and rhythm that carries a musical idea.

Common phrases

  • 哼着旋律hēng zhe xuán lǜ

    hum a melody

  • 创作旋律chuàng zuò xuán lǜ

    compose a melody

  • 旋律线xuán lǜ xiàn

    melodic line

Similar words

曲调qǔ diào: The overall flow of pitches that gives a piece its musical tune.
节奏jié zòu: The repeating pattern of beats, note lengths, and stresses that moves music forward.

Definition in Chinese

乐曲中可单独被辨认的一段音高与节奏的组合，常作为主题或动机出现。yuè qǔ zhōng kě dān dú bèi biàn rèn de yí duàn yīn gāo yǔ jié zòu de zǔ hé cháng zuò wéi zhǔ tí huò dòng jī chū xiàn

Word origin

The compound joins 旋 (xuán, "turn") with 律 (lǜ, "musical pitch rule"), suggesting an ordered sequence of sounds that moves in a recurring pattern.

Usage tips

  • A song can keep the same hummable line while its lyrics change, so the musical part and the words should be treated as separate things.

Other meanings

  • tunenoun

Opposites

Word lists with this word