How to Say "Viola" in Chinese

中提琴

zhōngtíqín

The English phrase 'viola' is translated into Chinese as 中提琴 (zhōngtíqín).

中提琴 refers to the stringed instrument of the violin family. To describe a person who plays the instrument, the term 中提琴手 is used.

Meaning: music: stringed instrument of the violin family (noun)

What does it mean word for word?

The name of the instrument consists of the character 中 (middle), which indicates its pitch is lower than that of the violin.

中提琴 (viola) is distinguished from 小提琴 (violin) by the character 中 (middle), which marks its position as having a lower pitch relative to the violin.

To change the noun from the instrument to the practitioner, you can add the suffix 手 (hand/player) to the end of the instrument name to form 中提琴手.

zhōngtíqín

While the character 琴 in 中提琴 now covers many string instruments, it specifically started as the word for the seven-stringed zither, which was a symbol of the scholar-official class.
In professional orchestral circles in cities like Beijing or Shanghai, musicians often bypass the Chinese term 中提琴 and simply use the English word 'viola' when speaking casually.
The term 中提琴 is part of a logical naming system where the violin is 小提琴 ('small') and the cello is 大提琴 ('large').

我学习演奏中提琴已经有五年了。
I have been learning to play the viola for five years.
音乐学院提供了中提琴专业课程。
The music academy offers a major course in viola.
他会演奏中提琴。
Tā huì yǎnzòu zhōngtíqín.
He can play the viola.
这把中提琴的声音很深沉。
Zhè bǎ zhōngtíqín de shēngyīn hěn shēnchén.
The sound of this viola is very deep.
我想买一把新的中提琴。
Wǒ xiǎng mǎi yī bǎ xīn de zhōngtíqín.
I want to buy a new viola.

At a music school, discussing instrument choices.

伟 Wei

你打算学什么乐器？
Nǐ dǎsuàn xué shénme yuèqì?
What instrument do you plan to learn?
雨婷 Yuting

我想学中提琴。
Wǒ xiǎng xué zhōngtíqín.
I want to learn the viola.
伟 Wei

中提琴听起来很棒。
Zhōngtíqín tīng qǐlái hěn bàng.
The viola sounds great.
雨婷 Yuting

谢谢，我真的很喜欢它。
Xièxiè, wǒ zhēn de hěn xǐhuān tā.
Thanks, I really like it.

Sources

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