Definition
声 (shēng) is a versatile noun meaning 'sound' or 'voice', and also a classifier for the number of times a sound occurs (e.g., 一声). It is shorter and more general than 声音 (shēng yīn 'sound, voice'), which is the everyday word for a specific sound or someone's voice. 声 often appears in fixed compounds (e.g., 响声 'noise', 声调 'tone') or as a classifier, while 声音 is a standalone noun.
noun
soundvoicenoisereputation
classifier
used for the number of times a sound occurs
Easily confused
- 壶húlook-alikepot, kettle
- 生shēngsound-aliketo give birth to
- 壮zhuànglook-alike(adjective) strong, robust
- 生shēngsound-aliketo give birth; to be born
- 剩shèngsound-aliketo be left; to remain
- 省shěngsound-alike(noun) province
- 省shěngsound-aliketo save, to economize
- 胜shèngsound-aliketo win; to defeat
- 升shēngsound-aliketo rise, to go up; to increase (temperature, prices, etc.)
- 升shēngsound-alike(classifier) liter (unit of volume)
Examples
- 声。Tā hǎn le yì shēng.He shouted once.
- 。Nà gè shēngyīn hěn dà.That sound is very loud.
- 声。Wǒ késòu le yì shēng.I coughed once.
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