DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

抑揚

简抑扬 · 繁抑揚

Mandarin · pinyin yì yáng

modulation (rising and falling pitch)
intonation
a cadence
to rise and fall (of a body floating in water)

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Characters in this entry

抑: yì · press down, repress; curb, hinder
揚: Look up this written character
扬: yáng · scatter, spread; praise

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

4–2 · yi4 yang2

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Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.

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2character links2same-tone records

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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.

抑揚 · find source passages ↗ · 抑扬 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 2 senses

Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

verb

to rise and fall; to modulate (of sound)

noun

modulation; intonation; cadence

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

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