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詠 — pronunciations, definitions, and tags
HanziPinyinEnglishTags
詠yǒngto sing, to hum, to chantx, 12 strokes, radical 言
yǒng(yong3) T3
  1. 1to sing, to hum, to chant
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March 24, 2026

詠yǒng(yong3)

The character 詠 (yǒng) means to sing, hum, or chant. It is often used in contexts involving poetry or music, conveying a sense of expressing emotions or thoughts through vocalization. This term can also imply a rhythmic or melodic quality in the way something is recited or performed.

Strokes12Radical言
Cultural Note

詠 is often associated with classical Chinese poetry, where poets would 'sing' their works, bringing them to life in a melodic form. This character reflects the deep cultural value placed on poetry and its oral traditions in Chinese history.

Memory Tip

Imagine a person singing joyfully by a river, the flowing water representing the rhythm of their voice. The component 言 (yán) signifies speech or words, while the character's sound 'yǒng' can be linked to the idea of a 'young' person singing with enthusiasm.

Meanings of 詠

yǒng(yong3)
1to sing, to hum, to chant
Exercise 1 of 2

Listen & Choose the Meaning

Choose the correct answer:

About 詠

詠Simplified
12Strokes
言Radical
非语素字non-morpheme character (n-m.)Part of Speech
#—Frequency Rank

Podcast: 詠

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Podcast: 詠

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AI Study Notes for 詠

Quick Contrast

吟 (yín) - choose 詠 when referring to a more melodic or rhythmic expression, while 吟 emphasizes a softer, more reflective vocalization.

Usage Notes

Be aware that 詠 is more commonly used in literary or poetic contexts rather than in everyday conversation. A common mistake is using it interchangeably with 唱 (chàng), which specifically means to sing songs. Proper collocations include 詩詠 (shī yǒng) for reciting poetry.

HSK Study Tips

Though 詠 is not part of the standard HSK vocabulary, it connects to other HSK words related to music and poetry. Students should focus on recognizing its usage in literary texts and understanding the context in which it appears.

Common Mistakes

Learners often confuse 詠 with 唱, mistakenly using 詠 to refer to casual singing. For example, saying '我詠歌' (Wǒ yǒng gē) instead of '我唱歌' (Wǒ chàng gē) which means 'I sing songs.'

AI-enhanced 2026-03-24

Pronunciation of 詠

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Etymology of 詠

Formation Typepictophonetic
六书 ClassificationPhono-semantic (形声字)~80-90% of characters
Explanation

Phonosemantic compound. 口 represents the meaning and 永 represents the sound. Simplified form of 詠.

Memory Hint

speech

Semantic (meaning)言
+
Phonetic (sound)永
Learn more about Phono-semantic (形声字) characters

Jason Etymology Detective

Case file: 詠

Phonosemantic compound. 口 represents the meaning and 永 represents the sound. Simplified form of 詠.

  1. 1The meaning half言 carries the sense.
  2. 2The sound half永 is there for the reading, not the meaning.
  3. 3The giveawayspeech
  4. 4On the record aspictophonetic.

Every clue here comes from the character's recorded structure — nothing is guessed.

Want the full history of 詠? Jason searches the paleographic record, weighs the competing accounts and judges the popular story.

Charged once for this character — everyone reads it afterwards.
Exercise 1 of 1

Character Formation Type

What type of character formation is 詠?

Decomposition of 詠

IDS Structure⿰言永
詠Full Character
=
言yan2
left
永yong3
right
Exercise 1 of 2

Identify the Components

Which of these is a component of 詠?

How to say to sing, to hum, to chant in Chinese

“to sing, to hum, to chant” in Chinese is詠yǒng

The character 詠 (yǒng) means to sing, hum, or chant. It is often used in contexts involving poetry or music, conveying a sense of expressing emotions or thoughts through vocalization. This term can also imply a rhythmic or melodic quality in the way something is recited or performed.

When to use 詠

Be aware that 詠 is more commonly used in literary or poetic contexts rather than in everyday conversation. A common mistake is using it interchangeably with 唱 (chàng), which specifically means to sing songs. Proper collocations include 詩詠 (shī yǒng) for reciting poetry.

詠 or something close to it

吟 (yín) - choose 詠 when referring to a more melodic or rhythmic expression, while 吟 emphasizes a softer, more reflective vocalization.

What learners get wrong

Learners often confuse 詠 with 唱, mistakenly using 詠 to refer to casual singing. For example, saying '我詠歌' (Wǒ yǒng gē) instead of '我唱歌' (Wǒ chàng gē) which means 'I sing songs.'

Write 詠

詠

Practice writing 詠 stroke by stroke. Watch the animation to learn the stroke order, then try writing it yourself.

Write correctly 3 times to earn XP

Word Family of 詠

Words Containing This Character6
咏yǒngto sing詠
歌咏gēyǒngsinging歌詠
谭咏麟Alan Tam (1950-), Hong Kong Canto-pop singer and actor譚詠麟
咏叹调aria詠嘆調
吟咏to recite吟詠
袁咏仪Anita Yuen (1971-), Hong Kong actress袁詠儀
Exercise 1 of 4

Compound Meaning

What does 咏 mean?

Frequently Asked Questions about 詠

You can say '我喜欢詠詩' (Wǒ xǐhuān yǒng shī) which means 'I enjoy reciting poetry.'

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