ruan
See also: Ruan, ruán, ruàn, Ruán, ruǎn, ruan2, and ruan3
English
Etymology
Borrowed from Mandarin 阮 (short for 阮咸, ruǎnxián).
Noun
ruan (plural ruans)
- (music) A Chinese long-necked fretted round-bodied plucked lute which has, since the mid-20th century, been produced in a family of five sizes (from low to high).
Synonyms
- ruanqin (mainly in reference to Taiwan)
Hyponyms
- gaoyinruan (soprano)
- xiaoruan (alto)
- zhongruan (tenor)
- daruan (bass)
- diyinruan (contrabass)
See also
- Appendix:Glossary of chordophones
Anagrams
- Arun, Uran, uran-, urna
Mandarin
Romanization
ruan
- Nonstandard spelling of ruán.
- Nonstandard spelling of ruǎn.
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.
Tiruray
Noun
ruan
- mudfish