n.
A vocal tune produced through rhythmic chanting and exhaled breath. Song, tune, or melody; any vocal music piece meant for singing. An elder brother (哥) opening his mouth to exhale (欠) a melody.
歌
Common Usage & Traps
- 唱歌 — to sing a song
- 听歌 — to listen to songs
- 好歌 — a good song
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说歌唱歌Songs are sung with 唱, not spoken with 说. English 'sing a song' maps to 唱歌.
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我喜欢歌我喜欢听歌 / 我喜欢唱歌It sounds like a category label. Daily Chinese usually names the action with 歌.
Can you say 我喜欢歌 for 'I like songs'?
It's understandable, but daily Chinese says 我喜欢听歌 or 我喜欢唱歌.
歌 is just the noun 'song'. In English, 'I like songs' names a category. In Chinese, people usually name the action with songs: 听歌 or 唱歌. If you mean particular songs, say 我喜欢这首歌 or 我喜欢这些歌. '我喜欢歌' alone can sound like a label, not a normal hobby.
| Dimension | Natural | Avoid |
|---|---|---|
| Hobby | 我喜欢听歌。 | 我喜欢歌。 |
| Singing hobby | 我喜欢唱歌。 | 我喜欢歌。 |
| Specific song | 我喜欢这首歌。 | 我喜欢歌。 |
Why is it 好歌 for 'good song,' but 歌很好 for 'the song is good'?
Adjectives before nouns label a type; after nouns, they describe how something is.
好歌 puts 好 before 歌, so it means 'a good song' as one chunk. 歌很好 puts the comment after 歌, so it means 'the song is good.' You cannot say 歌好 for 'good song' because that order flips the job of 好. When an adjective describes a song in a sentence, Chinese normally uses 很 before it: 歌很好. The story line uses the same pattern with 真: 歌真好听. “好歌真好听， 真话不好听。” (A good song is really nice to listen to, but the truth is not nice to hear.) ── [《好吃也好看》](/read/tasty-and-beautiful#s2)
| Dimension | Natural | Avoid |
|---|---|---|
| Label a song | 好歌 | 歌好 |
| Comment on a song | 歌很好。 | 歌好。 |
| Story version | 歌真好听。 | 歌好真好听。 |
Featured in Story Deep Dive
Follow how this word unfolds across the narrative arc of this graded story.
This short poem plays with words that sound alike, comparing things that are good to watch, read, hear, or taste. Perfect for practicing basic adjectives like 好 and 真.
- Scene #1
好 歌 真好听，真话不好听。
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