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HSK 3

声音

sound; voice

nounneutral2 episodes
声
shēng1st tone
音
yīn1st tone

HSK level

1
2
3
4
5
6
Pinyin
shēngyīn
Part of speech
noun
Level
HSK 3
Strokes
16
Register
neutral
Measure word
个 / 种
In episodes
2

Stroke order for 声音

声音 is written with 16 strokes (声: 7, 音: 9). The animation replays automatically.

What does 声音 mean?

声音 (shēngyīn) means 'sound' or 'voice' — any audible noise, including a person's voice, a musical sound, traffic noise, or animal calls.

Literally 声 'sound' + 音 'tone' — a redundant compound where both characters carry the meaning. Differences from English: English splits 'voice' (from a person) and 'sound' (everything else), but 声音 covers both. To specify, you can say 他的声音 ('his voice') or 鸟的声音 ('the sound of birds').

For volume, use 大 / 小: 声音大 ('loud'), 声音小 ('quiet / soft'), 把声音开大一点 ('turn the volume up'). To 'make a sound' is 发出声音; to 'lower your voice' is 小声一点. Related compounds: 大声 (loudly), 小声 (softly), 嗓音 (sǎngyīn, voice quality).

Character by character

声shēngsound; voice
+
音yīntone; sound (also 音乐 music)
=
声音

Memory hook: 声 + 音 both mean 'sound' — doubled up for emphasis: sound / voice.

Hear 声音 in real episodes

声音 appears in 2 Fluentide podcast episodes at natural native speed — each with the full Chinese script, pinyin, and line-by-line English translation.

A Magnitude 7.4 Quake Flattened Western Colombia. Under the Rubble, a Trapped Man Said: 'I'm With a Baby.'声音 spoken at natural speedbeginnerA Magnitude 7.4 Quake Flattened Western Colombia. Under the Rubble, a Trapped Man Said: 'I'm With a Baby.'声音 spoken at natural speedeasy
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Example sentences

你的声音真好听。

Nǐ de shēngyīn zhēn hǎotīng.

Your voice is really lovely.

spoken

外面的声音太大了。

Wàimiàn de shēngyīn tài dà le.

The noise outside is too loud.

spoken

我听到了一个奇怪的声音。

Wǒ tīngdào le yí ge qíguài de shēngyīn.

I heard a strange sound.

neutral

请把电视的声音开小一点。

Qǐng bǎ diànshì de shēngyīn kāi xiǎo yìdiǎn.

Please turn the TV volume down a bit.

neutral

孩子睡了，我们小声一点。

Háizi shuì le, wǒmen xiǎoshēng yìdiǎn.

The child is asleep — let's keep our voices down.

spoken

Common phrases with 声音

声音大shēngyīn dàloud
声音小shēngyīn xiǎosoft; quiet
好听的声音hǎotīng de shēngyīna nice-sounding voice
听到声音tīngdào shēngyīnto hear a sound
发出声音fāchū shēngyīnto make a sound

Synonyms

嗓音sǎngyīn

嗓音 specifically refers to the quality of a person's voice (deep, hoarse, sweet). 声音 is broader — any sound, including a voice. A singer's 嗓音 is her vocal quality; 她的声音 is more general 'her voice.'

音yīn

Bare 音 is mostly used in compounds (音乐 music, 录音 recording, 拼音 pinyin) and rarely stands alone for 'sound.' Use 声音 in normal speech.

Don't confuse 声音 with

音乐yīnyuè

音乐 means 'music' specifically. 声音 is any sound. Music is a kind of 声音, but 声音 includes everything else too.

声调shēngdiào

声调 means 'tone' as in Mandarin's four tones (first tone, second tone). 声音 is the general word for sound or voice. Don't confuse the linguistic 'tone' with everyday 'sound.'

FAQ

Related words from the same episodes

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Acquire it by listening

Meet 声音 again — in real Chinese, at your level.

You just saw 声音 in 2 episodes. Fluentide keeps feeding you news episodes at your level, so this word — and thousands like it — resurface in real sentences until they stick. Full pinyin and translation every time. Free to start.