sing off-key; deviate from the norm
Tone colorsmāmámǎmàma
Meanings
2 senses · 5 examplesverb
to sing or play out of tune; to be off-key
informalMost commonly used in informal spoken language to describe poor singing. The 儿化音 (érhuàyīn) '儿' is essential in the pronunciation.
Tā他
yī一
chàng唱
gē歌
jiù就
pǎo跑
diào调
r儿
，
dà大
jiā家
dōu都
xiào笑
le了
。
He sings off-key as soon as he starts, and everyone laughs.
Bié别
jǐn紧
zhāng张
，
fàng放
sōng松
chàng唱
jiù就
bù不
huì会
pǎo跑
diào调
r儿
。
Don't be nervous; if you sing relaxed, you won't go off-key.
Show 1 more exampleShow fewer examples
Zhè这
shǒu首
gē歌
de的
gāo高
yīn音
bù部
fèn分
hěn很
róng容
yì易
pǎo跑
diào调
r儿
。
The high notes in this song are very easy to sing off-key.
verb
to deviate from the original topic, plan, or principle
informalA metaphorical extension of the literal meaning, used when a discussion or action goes off-track.
Zán咱
men们
bié别
pǎo跑
diào调
r儿
，
hái还
shì是
tán谈
zhèng正
shì事
ba吧
。
Let's not get off-topic; we should talk about the main business.
Zhè这
gè个
xiàng项
mù目
de的
zhí执
xíng行
wán完
quán全
pǎo跑
diào调
r儿
le了
，
hé和
zuì最
chū初
de的
shè设
xiǎng想
bù不
yī一
yàng样
。
The execution of this project has completely deviated from the original plan.