Do you have a favourite singer? What types of songs do you usually listen to? I like to listen to all types of songs – Japanese, Korean, English, Chinese and Cantonese. My favourite Chinese singer is the belated Teresa Tang.
In this post, we will look at the various Chinese words expanding from the single Chinese word 歌. By learning word expansion, you will not only increase your Chinese vocabularies, you will also learn how different Chinese words are formed.
Learn the various Chinese words relating to 歌 for 5 minutes a day. You only need 5 minutes or less to pick up a new Chinese word a day.
Simplified and Traditional Character
The Chinese word for song is 歌. This Chinese word is written the same way in the simplified as well as the traditional version. Watch the video and learn how to write this Chinese word. You can download the PDF file for this Chinese character and learn how to write it anywhere and anytime.
歌 means song in English. The pinyin of this Chinese word is Gē, in the first tone. If you are taking the HSK examination, this Chinese word 歌 in HSK level 2 is 唱歌,and in HSK level 6 is 歌颂.
HSK level 2
1. 唱歌chàng gē Sing a song / singing
A: 明天下午你去唱歌吗？
B: 我想去，但是我要上课。
HSK Level 6
2. 歌颂 gē sòng sing the praises of; extol
《牡丹亭》歌颂了友谊
People and Song
In Chinese, when you want to describe people who are related to music, you add the Chinese word 歌 to the other Chinese word. By doing so, a new Chinese word is formed. For example,
3. 歌 + 手 = 歌手gē shǒu = singer
他是歌手 (他是歌手)
tā shì gē shǒu.
He is a singer.
玛丽亚·凯莉是美国天后级歌手 (瑪麗亞•凱莉是美國天后級歌手)
Mǎlìyà•kǎi lì shì měi guó tiān hòu jí gē shǒu.
Mariah Carey is an American diva.
4. 歌 + 星 = 歌星 gē xīng = famous singer
欧美著名的歌星有哪些？
Ōu měi zhù míng de gē xīng yǒu nǎ xiē?
Who are the famous American and European singers?
邓丽君是台湾已故的歌星。(鄧麗君是台灣已故的歌星)
Dèng lì jūn shì táiwān yǐ gù de zhù míng gē xīng
Teresa Teng was the late famous singer from Taiwan.
5. 歌 + 迷 = 歌迷 gē mí = fan
碧昂絲有很多国际歌迷。（碧昂絲有很多國際歌迷）
Bì áng sī yǒu hěn duō guó jì gē mí.
Beyonce has many international fans.
你参加过歌迷会吗？
Nǐ cān jiā guò gē mí huì ma?
Have you participated in any fan club?
6. 歌 + 喉 = 歌喉 gē hóu = singing voice
好歌喉是先天还是后天？（好歌喉是先天還是後天？）
Hǎo gē hóu shì xiān tiān hái shì hòu tiān?
Are good singers born or made?
他拥有一副好歌喉。（他擁有一副好歌喉）
Tā yǒng yǒu yī fù hǎo gē hóu.
He has a good voice.
Music and words
Lyrics are words that make up a song. If Chinese words are called 词Cí, and song is called 歌gē, then lyrics in Chinese is called 歌 + 词 = 歌词.
7. 歌 + 词 = 歌词 gē cí = lyrics
这首歌的歌词很有意思。（這首歌的歌詞很有意思）
Zhè shǒu gē de gē cí hěn yǒu yì si.
This song is full of meaningful lyrics.
这位歌手常忘记歌词。（這位歌手常忘記歌詞）
Zhè wèi gē shǒu cháng wàng jì gē cí.
This singer often forgets the lyrics.
8. 歌 + 谱 = 歌谱 gē pǔ = song sheet / music of the song
他一边看歌谱，一边唱歌。（他一邊看歌譜，一邊唱歌）
Tā yī biān kàn gē pǔ, yī biān chàng gē.
He sings while looking at the song sheet.
9. 歌 + 名 = 歌名gē míng = song title
这首歌很好听，你知道歌名吗？
Zhè shǒu gē hěn hǎo tīng nǐ zhī dào gē míng ma?
This song is very nice. Do you know the title of the song?
我忘了歌名叫什么了。
Wǒ wàng le gē míng jiào shén me le.
I have already forgotten the name of this song.
Types of music
What type of music do you like and from which countries? Let us learn how to say the different types of music in Mandarin Chinese.
10. 国歌（國歌）guó gē = National Anthe
每天上课之前我们都会唱国歌。（每天上課之前我們都會唱國歌）
měi tiān shàng kè zhī qián wǒ men dū huì chàng guó gē.
We sing the National Anthem every day before class.
11. 流行歌曲 liú xíng gē qǔ = pop songs
韩国流行歌曲排行榜。（韓國流行歌曲排行榜）
hán guó liú xíng gē qǔ pái háng bǎng.
Korean pop song billboard charts.
12. 情歌 qíng gē = love song
让我唱首情歌给你听。（讓我唱首情歌給你聽）
ràng wǒ chàng shǒu qíng gē gěi nǐ tīng.
Let me sing a love song for you.
13. 经典歌曲 jīng diǎn gē qǔ = classic songs
迈克尔杰克逊有很多经典歌曲。（邁克爾杰克遜有很多經典歌曲）
mài kè’ěr jié kè xùn yǒu hěn duō jīng diǎn gē qǔ.
Michael Jackson had many greatest hits.
Related Chinese words
14. 歌坛 （歌壇）gē tán = music industry / music world
他是华语歌坛的新秀。(他是華語歌壇的新秀)
Tā shì huá yǔ gētán de xīn xiù.
He is a rookie in the Chinese music industry.
15. 主打歌 zhǔ dǎ gē = title track / title song
这是专辑的主打歌。（這是專輯的主打歌）
Zhè shì zhuān jí de zhǔ dǎ gē.
This is the title track of this album.
16. 打歌 dǎ gē = promote song
韩国有六大打歌节目让你选。
Hánguó yǒu liù dà dǎ gē jié mù ràng nǐ xuǎn.
Korea has 6 new songs promotional programs for you to choose from.
There you have it. 16 new Chinese words you have just learned relating to the Chinese word 歌gē song. The next time you see this Chinese word, you will know that it is related to song or the person who is doing something relating to music or song.
1. 唱歌
2. 歌颂
3. 歌手
4. 歌星
5. 歌迷
6. 歌喉
7. 歌词
8. 歌谱
9. 歌名
10. 国歌
11. 流行歌曲
12. 情歌
13. 经典歌曲
14. 歌坛
15. 主打歌
16. 打歌
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