词调

noun

original tune for composing cí poetry; later, the set prosodic and tonal pattern (meter) of a cí form

A technical term in classical Chinese poetry. '词调' originally referred to the musical tune to which a '词' (a type of lyrical poetry) was set. After the music was lost, it came to refer to the fixed metrical pattern of each cí form, dictating the number of characters, line lengths, tonal patterns, and rhyme scheme. It is analogous to a poetic form in English, like a sonnet or haiku.