合唱
héchàng · HSK 7
sing in a chorus
🎤🎶 合唱 = 合 (together/join) + 唱 (sing) = sing together = chorus
合 means combine or join; 唱 means to sing. Joined singing is a chorus or choir. The 口 (mouth) radical in 唱 marks it as a voice word.
合 — 乛 (lid/roof) + 口 (mouth)
Originally a pictograph of a lidded vessel — a cover (亼) closing over an opening (口) — giving the core sense of 'come together, join, fit.' From 'fit/match' it extended to 'combine, unite, agree' and to measure-word uses. The reading hé reflects this 'joining' meaning.
唱 — mouth 口 + 昌 (bright/prosperous, phonetic)
唱 is a semantic-phonetic compound. The mouth radical 口 signals an action done with the voice, while 昌 supplies the sound and originally meant 'bright' or 'flourishing.' Together they came to mean 'to sing' or 'lead in chanting,' extending to 'call out' or 'proclaim.'