马头琴 馬頭琴 mǎ tóu qín morin khuur (Mongolian bowed stringed instrument) 板胡 bǎn hú a bowed stringed instrument with a thin wooden soundboard 拨弦乐器 撥弦樂器 bō xián yuè qì plucked string or stringed instrument / plucked instrument 拉 lā to pull / to play (a bowed instrument) / to drag / to draw / to chat / (coll.) to empty one's bowels syn 四胡 sì hú sihu (or "khuurchir" in Mongolian), a bowed instrument with four strings, primarily associated with Mongolian and Chinese culture 弹琴 彈琴 tán qín to play or strum a lute or other stringed instrument 琴弦 qín xián string (of a stringed instrument) 颤音 顫音 chàn yīn vibrato (of stringed instrument) / trill (in phonetics) 琴师 琴師 qín shī player of a stringed instrument syn 搊 chōu pluck (stringed instrument) 定弦 dìng xián tuning (stringed instrument) / (fig.) to make up one's mind syn 无品 無品 wú pǐn fretless (stringed instrument) 琴手 qín shǒu player of a stringed instrument 难弹 難彈 nán tán hard to play (of music for stringed instrument) 三味线 三味線 sān wèi xiàn shamisen, three-stringed Japanese musical instrument 琴弓 qín gōng bow (of a stringed instrument) 胡琴 hú qin huqin / family of Chinese two-stringed fiddles, with snakeskin covered wooden soundbox and bamboo bow with horsehair bowstring 京胡 jīng hú jinghu, a smaller, higher-pitched erhu 二胡 (two-stringed fiddle) used to accompany Chinese opera / also called 京二胡 京二胡 jīng èr hú jing'erhu, a two-stringed fiddle intermediate in size and pitch between the jinghu 京胡 and erhu 二胡, used to accompany Chinese opera / also called 京胡 双管齐下 雙管齊下 shuāng guǎn qí xià lit. to paint holding two brushes (idiom) / fig. to work on two tasks at the same time / to attack one problem from two angles at the same time syn 六书 六書 liù shū Six Methods of forming Chinese characters, according to Han dictionary Shuowen 說文|说文 - namely, two primary methods: 象形 (pictogram), 指事 (ideogram), two compound methods: 會意|会意 (combined ideogram), 形聲|形声 (ideogram plus phonetic), and two transfer methods: 假借 (loan), 轉注|转注 (transfer) 一分为二 一分為二 yī fēn wéi èr one divides into two / to be two-sided / there are two sides to everything / to see both sb's good points and shortcomings (idiom) syn 双向时间 雙向時間 two-way traveltime / two-way transit time / two-way time 一山不容二虎 yī shān bù róng èr hǔ lit. the mountain can't have two tigers (idiom) / fig. this town ain't big enough for the two of us / (of two rivals) to be fiercely competitive 唯二 wéi èr (slang) (adjective) (of one thing) one of the only two / (of two things) the only two 俯首帖耳 fǔ shǒu tiē ěr bowed head and ears glued (idiom) / docile and obedient / at sb's beck and call syn 弓状 弓狀 gōng zhuàng bowed / curved like a bow 臭氧计 臭氧計 ozonometer / ozone meter / ozone instrument / ozone measuring device / ozone measuring instrument 臭氧测量仪器 臭氧測量儀器 ozonometer / ozone meter / ozone instrument / ozone measuring device / ozone measuring instrument 絃 xián variant of 弦 / bow string / string of musical instrument / watch spring / chord (straight line joining two points on a curve) / hypotenuse 三弦 sān xián sanxian, large family of 3-stringed plucked musical instruments, with snakeskin covered wooden soundbox and long neck, used in folk music, opera and Chinese orchestra syn 七弦琴 qī xián qín guqin or seven-stringed zither syn 贯 貫 guàn to pierce through / to pass through / to be stringed together / string of 1000 cash syn 阮 ruǎn ruan, a four-stringed Chinese lute syn 伽倻琴 jiā yē qín gayageum (Korean 12-stringed zither) 朝鲜筝 朝鮮箏 cháo xiǎn zhēng gayageum (Korean 12-stringed zither) 二次 èr cì second (i.e. number two) / second time / twice / (math.) quadratic (of degree two) 大桥 大橋 dà qiáo Da Qiao, one of the Two Qiaos, according to Romance of the Three Kingdoms 三國演義|三国演义[San1 guo2 Yan3 yi4], the two great beauties of ancient China syn 两手 兩手 liǎng shǒu one's two hands / two prongs (of a strategy) / both aspects, eventualities etc / skills / expertise syn 空隙 kòng xì crack / gap between two objects / gap in time between two events syn 小桥 小橋 xiǎo qiáo Xiao Qiao, one of the Two Qiaos, according to Romance of the Three Kingdoms 三國演義|三国演义[San1 guo2 Yan3 yi4], the two great beauties of ancient China 夹击 夾擊 jiā jī pincer attack / attack from two or more sides / converging attack / attack on a flank / fork in chess, with one piece making two attacks syn 一举两得 一舉兩得 yī jǔ liǎng dé one move, two gains (idiom) / two birds with one stone syn 两回事 兩回事 liǎng huí shì two quite different things / two unrelated matters syn 夹攻 夾攻 jiā gōng attack from two sides / pincer movement / converging attack / attack on a flank / fork in chess, with one piece making two attacks syn 轮距 輪距 lún jù tread (the distance between the two front – or two rear – wheels of a vehicle) 两码事 兩碼事 liǎng mǎ shì two things that are fundamentally different from each other / two very different things syn 一箭双雕 一箭雙鵰 yī jiàn shuāng diāo lit. one arrow, two golden eagles (idiom) / to kill two birds with one stone syn 拉锯 拉鋸 lā jù a two-man saw / fig. to-and-fro between two sides 脚踏两条船 腳踏兩條船 jiǎo tà liǎng tiáo chuán lit. to stand with each foot in a different boat (idiom) / fig. to have it both ways / to run after two hares / (especially) to have two lovers at the same time 四体 四體 sì tǐ one's four limbs / two arms and two legs 两虎相斗 兩虎相鬥 liǎng hǔ xiāng dòu lit. two tigers fight (idiom) / fig. a dispute between two powerful adversaries / a battle of the giants 一个巴掌拍不响 一個巴掌拍不響 yī ge bā zhǎng pāi bù xiǎng lit. one palm alone cannot clap (proverb) / fig. it takes two persons to start a dispute / it takes two to tango / it's difficult to achieve anything without support 在天愿做比翼鸟，在地愿做连理枝 在天願做比翼鳥，在地願做連理枝 zài tiān yuàn zuò bǐ yì niǎo , zài dì yuàn zuò lián lǐ zhī In the sky to be two birds flying wing to wing, on earth to be two trees with branches intertwined / wishing for conjugal bliss 对顶角 對頂角 duì dǐng jiǎo angle to the vertical / angle (between two lines or two planes) 一是一，二是二 yī shì yī , èr shì èr lit. one is one, two is two (idiom) / fig. things are (or ought to be) perfectly clear-cut / unequivocal 𬣙 訏 xū to boast / great / large / multicolored silk / piece of silk torn in two, used to verify the holder's identity by matching up the two halves 两重天 兩重天 liǎng chóng tiān two entirely different worlds / two contrasting realities 情头 情頭 qíng tóu "lovers' avatar" – avatar that matches the avatar of a significant other (e.g. two halves of one image, two images drawn in a similar style etc), used to indicate a romantic relationship (abbr. for 情侶頭像|情侣头像[qing2 lu : 3 tou2 xiang4]) 工具 gōng jù tool / instrument / utensil / means (to achieve a goal etc) syn 仪器 儀器 yí qì instrument / apparatus / CL:臺|台[tai2] syn 仪表 儀表 yí biǎo appearance / bearing / meter (i.e. measuring instrument) syn 器械 qì xiè apparatus / instrument / equipment / weapon syn 音箱 yīn xiāng loudspeaker box / speaker (audio equipment) / resonating chamber of a musical instrument / sound box syn 演奏 yǎn zòu to perform on a musical instrument syn 乐器 樂器 yuè qì musical instrument / CL:件[jian4] syn 原声 原聲 yuán shēng acoustic (musical instrument) 喇叭 lǎ ba horn (automobile etc) / loudspeaker / brass wind instrument / trumpet / suona 鎖吶|锁呐[suo3 na4] syn 票据 票據 piào jù negotiable instrument (draft, note etc) / voucher / receipt syn 大关 大關 dà guān strategic pass / barrier or mark (i.e. a level considered impressive, usually a round figure such as 10,000) / instrument of torture used to break limbs 咪咪 mī mī oboe-like musical instrument used in folk music of Gansu, Qinghai etc / (onom.) meow / kitty kitty! / Mimi (Western name) / tits (i.e. slang for breasts) syn 读出 讀出 dú chū to read out loud / (computing) to read (data) / readout (of a scientific instrument) 弹奏 彈奏 tán zòu to play (musical instrument, esp. string) syn 铜板 銅板 tóng bǎn copper coin / copper plate / copper clappers (a kind of percussion instrument) / (Tw) coin syn 高亢 gāo kàng high-pitched and penetrating (musical instrument, voice etc) / high-spirited / fever-pitched (atmosphere) syn 探子 tàn zi intelligence gatherer / spy / detective / scout / sound (medical instrument) / long and narrow probing and sampling utensil syn 木鱼 木魚 mù yú mokugyo / wooden fish (percussion instrument) 铜管 銅管 tóng guǎn brass instrument (music) 弹唱 彈唱 tán chàng to sing and play (plucked string instrument) 尺子 chǐ zi ruler (measuring instrument) / CL:把[ba3] syn 提琴 tí qín instrument of the violin family (violin, viola, cello or double bass) / CL:把[ba3] 光学仪器 光學儀器 guāng xué yí qì optical instrument 金融工具 jīn róng gōng jù financial instrument 分度 fēn dù graduation (of a measuring instrument) 风琴 風琴 fēng qín pipe organ (musical instrument) 葫芦丝 葫蘆絲 hú lú sī hulusi, aka cucurbit flute (a kind of free reed wind instrument) 调音 調音 tiáo yīn to tune (a musical instrument) 刑具 xíng jù punishment equipment / torture instrument syn 扬琴 揚琴 yáng qín yangqin / dulcimer (hammered string musical instrument) syn 打击乐器 打擊樂器 dǎ jī yuè qì percussion instrument syn 八音 bā yīn ancient classification system for musical instruments, based on the material of which the instrument is made (metal 金, stone 石, clay 土, leather 革, silk 絲|丝, wood 木, gourd 匏, bamboo 竹) / the eight kinds of sound produced by instruments in these categories / music 批准书 pī zhǔn shū instrument of ratification 芦笙 蘆笙 lú shēng reed-pipe wind instrument 编钟 編鐘 biān zhōng set of bells (old Chinese music instrument) 弦乐器 弦樂器 xián yuè qì string instrument syn 监测仪器 監測儀器 monitoring instrument 管乐器 管樂器 guǎn yuè qì wind instrument / woodwind 双簧管 雙簧管 shuāng huáng guǎn double reed wind instrument (such as oboe or bassoon) 具 jù tool / device / utensil / equipment / instrument / talent / ability / to possess / to have / to provide / to furnish / to state / classifier for devices, coffins, dead bodies syn 