弹吉他
tán jítā
To play guitar in Mandarin is 弹吉他 (tán jítā).
The phrase is used to describe the act of producing music by plucking or strumming the strings of a guitar.
What does it mean word for word?
The verb 弹 (tán) means to pluck or strum, while 吉他 (jítā) is a phonetic loanword from the English word 'guitar'.
How does it change in a sentence?
In Mandarin, the verb 弹 (tán) is used for many different stringed instruments, such as the piano (弹钢琴) or the harp (弹竖琴).
How do you pronounce it?
tán jítā
Did you know?
- The character 弹 (tán) can also be pronounced as dàn when it means 'to shoot' or 'bullet'. A small change in tone completely changes the action from playing a musical instrument to firing a weapon.
- While 弹 (tán) covers plucking and strumming, Mandarin uses a different verb, 拉 (lā), for instruments you play with a bow, such as the violin (拉小提琴).
- The word 吉他 (jítā) is a loanword, but its characters are chosen for their sounds. 吉 (jí) individually means 'lucky' or 'auspicious', though it has no connection to music in this context.
Examples in context
- 我想学弹吉他I want to learn to play the guitar
- 昨天我去朋友家一起弹吉他。I went to my friend's house yesterday to play guitar together.
- 我会弹吉他。Wǒ huì tán jítā.I can play the guitar.
- 他在房间里弹吉他。Tā zài fángjiān lǐ tán jítā.He is playing the guitar in the room.
- 你想学弹吉他吗？Nǐ xiǎng xué tán jítā ma?Do you want to learn to play the guitar?
Example conversation
Zhiqiang and Jiayi are talking about their hobbies.
- 伟 Wei志强，你会弹吉他吗？Zhìqiáng, nǐ huì tán jítā ma?Zhiqiang, can you play guitar?
- 雨婷 Yuting我会，但我练习得不多。Wǒ huì, dàn wǒ liànxí de bù duō.I can, but I don't practice much.
- 伟 Wei什么时候能给我们弹吉他听？Shénme shíhou néng gěi wǒmen tán jítā tīng?When can you play guitar for us?
- 雨婷 Yuting没问题，下次我带来。Méi wèntí, xiàcì wǒ dài lái.No problem, I'll bring it next time.
