对仗

對仗

duìzhàng

noun #60,750

Meanings

1 parallelism (in classical Chinese poetry)
2 antithetical couplet structure where paired lines match in tone, part of speech and sense

Characters

battle array; rely on

Examples

律诗的中间两联必须对仗工整。

Lǜshī de zhōngjiān liǎng lián bìxū duìzhàng gōngzhěng.

The middle two couplets of a regulated poem must be neatly parallel.

这副对联对仗非常巧妙。

Zhè fù duìlián duìzhàng fēicháng qiǎomiào.

The parallelism in this couplet is extremely clever.

Tips

history

A core aesthetic of classical Chinese poetry from the Six Dynasties onward. In a 七律 or 五律, lines 3-4 and 5-6 must be 对仗: nouns pair with nouns, verbs with verbs, tones alternate level/oblique (平仄), and concepts mirror or contrast.

usage

工整 (neat, well-formed) is the standard praise for good 对仗. The noun form usually just means 'parallelism'; the verb use 'to wage war' (CC-CEDICT) is archaic and rare in modern speech.

Stroke Order

对 duì

仗 zhàng