Image: monikawl999 on Pixabay
In this post we’ll talk about vocabulary and expressions related to music: what you listen to, what you dance to, and what kind of musical instruments you may play.
我喜欢这首歌。 Wǒ xǐ huan zhè shǒu gē. I love this song.
Let’s start with some of the basics. If you want to talk about music, you’ll want to know how to say: 歌曲 gē qū song, 歌手 gē shǒu singer, 乐队 yuè duì group/band, 专辑 zhuān jí album, 歌词 gē cí lyrics, 广播 guǎng bō radio, 音乐短片/MV yīn yuè duǎn piàn / MV music video, 听音乐 tīng yīn yuè to listen to music, 唱歌 chàng gē to sing, 跳舞 tiào wǔ to dance.
- 你最喜欢哪个乐队？
Nǐ zuì xǐ huan nǎ gè yuè duì?
What’s your favorite band? - 你最喜欢的歌手是谁？
Nǐ zuì xǐ huan de gē shǒu shì shuí?
Who’s your favorite singer?
- 我在车里总是听音乐。
Wǒ zài chē lǐ zǒng shì tīng yīn yuè.
I always listen to music in the car. - 我喜欢/不喜欢这首歌。
Wǒ xǐ huan / bù xǐ huan zhè shǒu gē.
I like/don’t like this song. - 把音量调大！我喜欢这首歌。
Bǎ yīn liàng tiáo dà! Wǒ xǐ huān zhè shǒu gē.
Turn the volume up! I love this song. - 把音量调低！音乐太响了。
Bǎ yīn liàng tiáo dī! Yīn yuè tài xiǎng le.
Turn the volume down! The music is too loud. - 这首歌节奏很好。
Zhè shǒu gē jié zòu hěn hǎo.
This song has a great beat. - 我总是跟唱这首歌。
Wǒ zǒng shì gēn chàng zhè shǒu gē.
I always sing along to this song. - 我总是跟着这首歌跳舞。
Wǒ zǒng shì gēn zhe zhè shǒu gē tiào wǔ.
I always dance to this song. - 我不知道这首歌的歌词。
Wǒ bù zhī dào zhè shǒu gē de gē cí.
I don’t know the lyrics to this song. - 这是我最喜欢的音乐短片/ MV。
Zhè shì wǒ zuì xǐ huan de yīn yuè duǎn piàn / MV.
This is my favorite music video. - 这支乐队刚刚发行了一张新专辑。太棒了。
Zhè zhī yuè duì gāng gang fā xíng le yī zhāng xīn zhuān jí. tài bàng le.
This band just released a new album. It’s great. - 我喜欢在Spotify上随机听歌。
Wǒ xǐ huān zài Spotify shang suí jī tīng gē.
I like to listen to random songs on Spotify. - 我作了一个播放列表，上面都是我最喜欢听的歌。
Wǒ zuò le yī gè bō fàng liè biǎo, shàng mian dōu shì wǒ zuì xǐ huan tīng de gē.
I made a playlist of my favorite songs.
你喜欢什么样的音乐？ Nǐ xǐ huan shén me yáng de yīn yuè? What kind of music do you like?
People have all sorts of different taste in music. What kind of music do you like? 流行音乐 liú xíng yīn yuè pop music, 舞曲 wǔ qū dance music, 迪斯科 dí sī kē disco, 嘻哈乐 xī hā yuè hip hop, 韩国流行音乐 hán guó liú xíng yīn yuè K-pop, 日本流行音乐 rì běn liú xíng yīn yuè J-pop, 摇滚 yáo gǔn rock, 重摇滚 zhòng yáo gǔn hard rock, 乡村音乐 xiāng cūn yīn yuè country music, 电子音乐 diàn zǐ yīn yuè electronic music, 古典音乐 gǔ diǎn yīn yuè classical music, 歌剧 gē jù opera, 爵士乐 jué shì yuè jazz, 蓝调 lán diào blues, 雷鬼乐 léi guǐ yuè reggae, 朋克摇滚乐 péng kè yáo gǔn yuè punk rock, 民歌 mín gē folk music, 氛围音乐 fēn wéi yīn yuè ambient music, 福音音乐 fú yīn yīn yuè gospel music.
- 我更喜欢摇滚乐/爵士乐/古典音乐。
Wǒ gèng xǐ huan yáo gǔn yuè / jué shì yuè / gǔ diǎn yīn yuè.
I prefer rock/jazz/classical music. - 我不喜欢迪斯科/蓝调/雷鬼乐。
Wǒ bù xǐ huan dí sī kē / lán diào / léi guǐ yuè.
I don’t like disco/blues/reggae. - 我刚刚开始喜欢起来韩国流行音乐/乡村音乐。
Wǒ gāng gang kāi shǐ xǐ huān qǐ lái hán guó liú xíng yīn yuè / xiāng cūn yīn yuè.
I’m starting to get into K-pop/country music. - 我受不了民歌/歌剧。
Wǒ shòu bu liǎo mín gē / gē jù.
I can’t stand folk music/opera. - 你最喜欢哪种音乐？
Nǐ zuì xǐ huan nǎ zhǒng yīn yuè ?
What’s your favorite kind of music? - 我们有不同的音乐品味。我们在音乐上从来没有意见一致过。
Wǒmen yǒu bù tóng de yīn yuè pǐn wèi. Wǒmen zài yīn yuè shang cóng lái méi yǒu yì jiàn yī zhì guò.
We have different musical tastes. We never agree on music. - 下一首歌，你可以选择。
Xià yī shǒu gē, nǐ kě yǐ xuǎn zé.
You can choose the next song.
你会演奏什么乐器吗？ Nǐ huì yǎn zòu shén me yuè qì ma? Do you play any instruments?
If you want to talk about music, it’s helpful to know how to say different instruments: 钢琴 gāng qín piano, 吉他 jí tā guitar, 电吉他 diàn jí tā electric guitar, 鼓 gǔ drum, 电子钢琴 diàn zǐ gāng qín keyboard, 小提琴 xiǎo tí qín violin, 小号 xiǎo hào trumpet, 长笛 cháng dí flute, 单簧管 dān huáng guǎn clarinet, 萨克斯管 sà kè sī guǎn saxophone, 大提琴 dà tí qín cello, 大号 dà hào tuba, 长号 cháng hào trombone, 管风琴 guǎn fēng qín organ, 手风琴 shǒu fēng qín accordion. You will also need to know the verb 演奏一种乐器yǎnzòu yī zhǒng yuèqì to play a musical instrument. There are also some specific Chinese verbs that you use to mean play with certain types of instruments:
- 弹
tán
to play, to pluck (piano, guitar, etc.) - 吹
chuī
to play, to blow (saxophone, trumpet, etc.) - 拉
lā
to play, to pull (an instrument with a bow) - 打
dǎ
to play, to strike, to beat (drums)
- 我们在唱诗班唱歌。
Wǒmen zài chàng shī bān chàng gē.
We sing in a choir. - 我小时候上过钢琴课。
Wǒ xiǎo shí hou shàng guò gāng qín kè.
I took piano lessons when I was younger. - 我想学弹吉他。
Wǒ xiǎng xué tán jí tā.
I want to learn how to play the guitar. - 我拉小提琴，但拉得不是很好。
Wǒ lā xiǎo tí qín, dàn lā de bú shì hěn hǎo.
I play the violin, but not very well. - 我喜欢在洗澡时唱歌。
Wǒ xǐ huan zài xǐ zǎo shí chàng gē.
I like to sing in the shower. - 你唱得真好。你的声音很好听。
Nǐ chàng de zhēn hǎo. Nǐ de shēng yīn hěn hǎo tīng.
You sing really well. You have a great voice. - 他/她在管弦乐队演奏单簧管。
Tā / Tā zài guǎn xián yuè duì yǎn zòu dān huáng guǎn.
He/She plays clarinet in an orchestra. - 他/她在乐队负责打鼓。
Tā / Tā zài yuè duì fù zé dǎ gǔ.
He/She plays drums in a band. - 你是专业演奏大提琴还是业余爱好？
Nǐ shì zhuān yè yǎn zòu dà tí qín huán shì yè yú ài hǎo?
Do you play the cello professionally or as a hobby?
我们去听音乐会吧。 Wǒmen qù tīng yīn yuè huì ba. Let’s go to a concert.
Music isn’t just for listening to at home, which brings us to: 音乐会 yīn yuè huì a concert, 管弦乐队 guǎn xián yuè duì orchestra, 卡拉OK kǎ lā OK karaoke, DJ/打碟师 DJ/ dǎ dié shī DJ, 夜店 yè diàn nightclub.
- 我们去唱卡拉OK吧！
Wǒmen qù chàng kǎ lā OK ba!
Let’s go to a karaoke bar! - 我想去听音乐会。
Wǒ xiǎng qù tīng yīn yuè huì.
I want to go to a concert. - 我买了这个周末的音乐会票。
Wǒ mǎi le zhè gè zhōu mò de yīn yuè huì piào.
I bought tickets to a concert this weekend. - 我们喜欢去听交响乐。
Wǒmen xǐ huan qù tīng jiāo xiǎng yuè.
We love to go to the symphony. - 我喜欢跟着慢歌/快歌跳舞。
Wǒ xǐ huan gēn zhe màn gē / kuài gē tiào wǔ.
I like to dance to slow/fast songs. - 我喜欢看乐队表演。我喜欢现场音乐。
Wǒ xǐ huan kàn yuè duì biǎo yǎn. wǒ xǐ huan xiàn chǎng yīn yuè.
I like to see bands perform. I love live music. - 我朋友的乐队这个周末在酒吧演出。
Wǒ péng yǒu de yuè duì zhè gè zhōu mò zài jiǔ ba yǎn chū.
My friend’s band is playing at a bar this weekend. - 我们去了一家夜店，跳了一夜的舞。
Wǒ men qù le yī jiā yè diàn, tiào le yī yè de wǔ.
We went to a nightclub and danced all night. - 他/她是我最喜欢的DJ。
Tā / Tā shì wǒ zuì xǐ huan de DJ.
He/She is my favorite DJ.
No matter what you do, enjoy the music!
Do you want to learn Chinese?
Check out our other posts on Chinese language, culture, and more. And if you’re looking for convenient and affordable live Chinese lessons with a real teacher, check out The Language Garage. Our lessons are given online in a virtual classroom, so it doesn’t matter where you live or work – we can come to you. And we have flexible options, with a free trial so that you can decide if there’s a fit. Check us out!
