homophonic sound; rhyme; assonance
Tone colorsmāmámǎmàma
Meanings
1 sense · 4 examplesverb
to rhyme; to be homophonic; to have identical or similar pronunciation
In Chinese culture, homophones carry significant cultural weight, often used in wordplay, auspicious expressions (e.g., '8' sounding like 'prosperity'), and taboo avoidance.
Fú福
hé和
fú蝠
xié谐
yīn音
，
suǒ所
yǐ以
biān蝙
fú蝠
xiāng象
zhēng征
fú福
qi气
。
Fu (blessing) and fu (bat) are homophones, so bats symbolize good fortune.
Zhè这
liǎng两
gè个
cí词
suī虽
rán然
xiě写
fǎ法
bù不
tóng同
，
dàn但
xié谐
yīn音
。
Although these two words are written differently, they sound the same.
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Zhōng中
guó国
rén人
xǐ喜
huān欢
yòng用
xié谐
yīn音
biǎo表
dá达
jí吉
xiáng祥
de的
yì意
si思
。
Chinese people like to use homophones to express auspicious meanings.
88
hé和
fā发
xié谐
yīn音
，
suǒ所
yǐ以
bèi被
shì视
wéi为
jí吉
lì利
shù数
zì字
。
Eight is a homophone for 'fa' (prosperity), so it is considered an auspicious number.