跑调

跑調

pǎodiào

verb

Meanings

1 to sing off-key
2 to be out of tune

Characters

Examples

他唱歌经常跑调，但唱得很开心。

Tā chànggē jīngcháng pǎodiào, dàn chàng de hěn kāixīn.

He often sings off-key but has a great time doing it.

一紧张我就跑调。

Yì jǐnzhāng wǒ jiù pǎodiào.

The moment I get nervous, I go off-key.

Tips

register

Colloquial. At KTV, 跑调 is a gentle teasing word. If someone is hopeless, people say 五音不全 (wǔyīn bùquán, tone-deaf).

memory

Literally 'the pitch ran away'. 跑 (run) + 调 (melody/pitch) — your melody ran off.

Stroke Order

跑 pǎo

调 tiáo