DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT
八音
Mandarin · pinyin bā yīn
Meanings
- ancient classification system for musical instruments, based on the material of which the instrument is made (metal 金, stone 石, clay 土, leather 革, silk 絲, wood 木, gourd 匏, bamboo 竹)
- the eight kinds of sound produced by instruments in these categories
- music
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Mandarin tones
1–1 · ba1 yin1
Compare attested words with these syllables ↗Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.
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Counts describe dictionary records, not word frequency or semantic similarity. Source identities stay separate.Read this spelling in Classical texts
Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.
Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 3 senses · 1 Cantonese reading
Rime Cantonese 粵拼
baat3 jam1
Cantonese word readings for 八音. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.
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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section
Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.
noun
- Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see 八 (bā), 音 (yīn).
- (music) an ancient Chinese system of classifying musical instruments into eight materials
- (music) any one of a variety of genres of traditional instrumental ensemble music, mostly originating in southern China and Taiwan
Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history
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