qin

qin

See also: Qin, qín, qìn, Qín, qīn, and qǐn

English

Alternative forms

• kin

Etymology

From the Hanyu Pinyin romanization of the Mandarin Chinese pronunciation for 琴 (qín).

Pronunciation

• (US) IPA^(key): /t͡ʃin/

Noun

qin (plural qins)

1. (music) Any of several traditional Chinese musical instruments, most commonly the seven-stringed instrument more specifically called the guqin.
   • 1989, Zhongguo fu li hui, Chung-kuo fu li hui, China Reconstructs

     ... there was no longer anyone worth playing his qin for, so he broke his instrument and never played again. The guqin was also a means of expressing love.

   • 2006, Dana Standridge, Lessons in Essence: A Novel:

     He makes his qin students take calligraphy with him, and calligraphy and painting students play the qin.

   • 2016 December 30, “Oral history book explores true meaning of tradition by recounting the revival of qin”, in Shanghai Daily:

     Knowing that we play the qin, they told us that there was a qin in the teahouse, but only for decoration – no one there actually knew how to play it.

Translations

Chinese musical instrument

Chinese: Mandarin: 琴 (zh) (qín) Japanese: 琴 (ja) (kin) Korean: please add this translation if you can

See also

• Appendix:Glossary of chordophones

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Mandarin

Romanization

qin

1. Nonstandard spelling of qīn.
2. Nonstandard spelling of qín.
3. Nonstandard spelling of qǐn.
4. Nonstandard spelling of qìn.

Usage notes

• English transcriptions of Mandarin speech often fail to distinguish between the critical tonal differences employed in the Mandarin language, using words such as this one without the appropriate indication of tone.