红牙

紅牙

hóngyá

noun

Meanings

1 red clappers (a wooden percussion instrument used to mark time, traditionally painted red)
2 (literary) red sandalwood

Characters

Examples

歌伎手中的红牙轻轻敲击着节拍。

Gējì shǒu zhōng de hóngyá qīngqīng qiāojī zhe jiépāi.

The clappers in the singer's hand softly tapped out the beat.

宋词中常常出现红牙的意象。

Sòngcí zhōng chángcháng chūxiàn hóngyá de yìxiàng.

The image of red clappers appears often in Song-dynasty ci poetry.

她按着红牙板，轻声唱起小曲。

Tā ànzhe hóngyábǎn, qīngshēng chàng qǐ xiǎoqǔ.

Pressing the clappers, she softly began to sing a tune.

Tips

culture

Traditional 红牙 are paired wooden boards struck together to keep time for singing — strongly associated with refined urban music of the Song and after. Often used metonymically in poetry to evoke a singer or a song.

Stroke Order

红 hóng

牙 yá