sòng
noun #19,751

Meanings

  1. 1 ode
  2. 2 eulogy
  3. 3 hymn
  4. 4 to praise in writing
  5. 5 to wish (in letters)

Examples

HSK 6
Zhè shǒu sònggē shì wèi qìngzhù Guóqìngjié ér zuò de.
This hymn was composed to celebrate National Day.
HSK 7-9
Quántǐ shìmín sòngyáng tā de wúsī fèngxiàn jīngshén.
All citizens praised his spirit of selfless dedication.

Components

radical
page; head (radical)
Right head radical (simplified from ) - the indexing radical. Originally a pictograph of a kneeling person with an emphasized head. Anchors in the head/face family with face, cheek, top, along. The link to praise: an ode is recited with raised head, vocalizing publicly.
phonetic
gōng
public; impartial
Left supplies the sound: gōng → sòng through historical sound shift. Same phonetic family: pine, lawsuit. Faint semantic flavor - means 'public, common to all,' and an ode is a public song of praise sung on behalf of a group. The communal-praise reading is etymologically apt.

Stroke Order

sòng