Meaning of 歌
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- song (CL:首[shou3],支[zhi1])
- (bound form) to sing
- variant of 歌[ge1]
How to use 歌
On its own, 歌 means a song, and you count songs with 首 (shǒu). It also appears in many compounds such as 歌手 (gēshǒu, singer) and 歌曲 (gēqǔ, song). Example: 这首歌很好听。(Zhè shǒu gē hěn hǎotīng.) This song sounds great.
歌 (gē) is 哥 (gē, older brother) on the left and 欠 (qiàn), a person with an open mouth, on the right. Picture your big brother opening his mouth wide to sing a song.
Common mistake: Learners often say 唱 (chàng) alone when they mean "to sing" in general. The natural everyday phrase is 唱歌 (chànggē), as in 我喜欢唱歌 (Wǒ xǐhuan chànggē). Also, do not mix up 歌 with 哥 (gē, brother). They sound the same, but 歌 has 欠 on the right.
歌 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
歌 gē · song · 14 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 歌.
Questions about 歌
What does 歌 mean?
歌 (gē) means "song (CL:首[shou3],支[zhi1]); (bound form) to sing" and is used as a noun.
How do you write 歌?
歌 is made of 1 character: 歌 (14 strokes). That is 14 strokes in total.
Is 歌 an HSK word?
Yes. 歌 is on the HSK 1 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
What is the difference between 歌 and 歌曲?
Both mean song. 歌 is short and used in everyday speech, while 歌曲 (gēqǔ) sounds more formal and is common in writing, charts, and media.
How do I say "sing a song" with a specific song?
Split 唱歌 and put the details in the middle or use 唱 with the song as the object. For example, 唱一首歌 (chàng yì shǒu gē) means sing a song, and 唱这首歌 (chàng zhè shǒu gē) means sing this song.