填词

填詞

tiáncí

verb #36,280

Meanings

1 to write lyrics for an existing tune
2 to compose a ci poem (in a fixed metrical pattern)
3 to fill in lyrics

Characters

words, lyrics, ci-poem

Examples

HSK 6

这首歌的曲子先写好，再请人填词。

Zhè shǒu gē de qǔzi xiān xiě hǎo, zài qǐng rén tiáncí.

The melody of this song was written first, then someone was asked to write the lyrics.

HSK 7-9

苏轼是宋代著名的填词高手。

Sū Shì shì Sòngdài zhùmíng de tiáncí gāoshǒu.

Su Shi was a famous master of ci-poem composition in the Song dynasty.

Tips

culture

Literally 'to fill in (填) words (词)'. Originates from Tang/Song-dynasty 词 poetry: poets wrote new lyrics to existing tune patterns (词牌), filling in the prescribed tonal and syllabic slots - much like writing English lyrics to a known melody. The verb survives in modern Chinese songwriting.

Stroke Order

填 tián

词 cí