oblique tone; rising, departing and entering tones
Tone colorsmāmámǎmàma
Meanings
1 sense · 3 examplesnoun
oblique tone; ze tone (the rising, departing and entering tones in the four tones of Classical Chinese, as distinct from the level tone)
In traditional Chinese phonology, the four tones are divided into level (平) and oblique (仄). This distinction is fundamental to the composition of regulated verse (律诗) and ci poetry (词), where tonal patterns must alternate between level and oblique tones.
Jìn近
tǐ体
shī诗
de的
gé格
lǜ律
yāo要
qiú求
píng平
shēng声
hé和
zè仄
shēng声
jiāo交
tì替
chū出
xiàn现
。
The tonal patterns of regulated verse require the alternation of level and oblique tones.
Zhè这
gè个
zì字
zài在
gǔ古
dài代
dú读
zè仄
shēng声
，
xiàn现
dài代
pǔ普
tōng通
huà话
lǐ里
dú读
píng平
shēng声
。
This character was read as an oblique tone in ancient times, but is pronounced as a level tone in modern Mandarin.
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Duì对
lián联
jiǎng讲
jiù究
píng平
zè仄
xiāng相
duì对
，
shàng上
lián联
mò末
zì字
yòng用
zè仄
shēng声
，
xià下
lián联
mò末
zì字
yòng用
píng平
shēng声
。
Antithetical couplets pay attention to the opposition of level and oblique tones: the last character of the first line uses an oblique tone, while the last character of the second line uses a level tone.