曲 (qū): bent, crooked, wrong
曲 (qū) is a Chinese character meaning “bent.” Classified as HSK Level 5 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 曰 (structural), 丨 (structural) and 丨 (structural). It ranks #1065 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically pictographic, 曲 a folded object 曰. Its radical form 曰 (say) appears in many related characters such as 更 (gèng, more), 替 (tì, to substitute for), 曰 (yuē, to speak).
Definitions
- bent
- crooked
- wrong
Etymology & Origin
pictographicA folded object 曰
Decomposition: ⿻曰⿰丨丨 (layout: overlay)
Stroke Order
Practice writing 曲 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 曲
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 歌曲noun | gē qǔ | song | 5 |
| 弯曲adjective | wān qū | to bend | 6 |
| 乐曲noun | yuè qǔ | musical composition | 6 |
| 戏曲noun | xì qǔ | Chinese opera | 6 |
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 曲子noun | qǔ zi | poem for singing |
| 扭曲verb | niǔ qū | to twist |
| 曲棍球noun | qū gùn qiú | field hockey |
| 曲线noun | qū xiàn | curve |
| 曲目noun | qǔ mù | repertoire |
| 作曲家 | zuò qǔ jiā | composer |
| 舞曲noun | wǔ qǔ | dance music |
| 插曲noun | chā qǔ | music played during a movie, play etc |
| 作曲verb | zuò qǔ | to compose (music) |
| 主题曲noun | zhǔ tí qǔ | theme song |
| 歪曲verb | wāi qū | to distort |
| 曲解verb | qū jiě | to misrepresent |
| 曲奇noun | qū qí | cookie (loanword via Cantonese 曲奇 kuk1 kei4) |
| 曲折adjective | qū zhé | winding |
| 曲调noun | qǔ diào | tune |
曲 appears in 100 compound words: 32 as the first character, 65 as the last, and 3 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 曲 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (15)
to be highbrow and unpopular, as it cannot be easily understood by the common people
to take preventive measures; to take precautions (to prevent trouble from happening)
to be highbrow and unpopular, as it cannot be easily understood by the common people
to take preventive measures; to take precautions (to prevent trouble from happening)
Showing 12 of 15 idioms containing 曲.
Example Sentences
写好曲字需要掌握正确的笔画顺序。
xiě hǎo qū zì xū yāo zhǎng wò zhēng què de bǐ huà shùn xù .
To write the character "曲" correctly, one must master the proper stroke order.
...时四季映照青春舞台 第12届青艺节打造戏曲新风景
. . . shí sì jì yìng zhào qīng chūn wǔ tái dì 1 2 jiè qīng yì jié dǎ zào xì qū xīn fēng jǐng
... The four seasons reflect the stage of youth The 12th Youth Arts Festival creates a new scenery of opera
挑战恐怖片极限尺度!《墓乃伊》皮肤指甲扭曲变形 骇人模样曝光
tiāo zhàn kǒng bù piàn jí xiàn chǐ dù ! mù nǎi yī pí fū zhǐ jiǎ niǔ qū biàn xíng hài rén mó yàng pù guāng
Challenge the limits of horror movies! "Tomb Nai" skin and nails are twisted and deformed, and the terrifying appearance is exposed
... 4 游戏支持名单:《生化危机 9:安魂曲》《红色沙漠》《毒液突击队》
. . . 4 yóu xì zhī chí míng dān : shēng huà wēi jī 9 : ān hún qū hóng sè shā mò dú yè tū jī duì
... 4 Game Support List: Resident Evil 9: Requiem, Red Desert, Venom
“诈骗骗不到你” 台东警创作歌曲宣导防诈
zhà piàn piàn bù dào nǐ tái dōng jǐng chuàng zuò gē qū xuān dǎo fáng zhà
"Fraud can't fool you" Taitung police created songs to promote anti-fraud
...生前我们听甚么?中大教授翻查史料还原时代曲面貌
. . . shēng qián wǒ men tīng shèn má ? zhōng dà jiào shòu fān chá shǐ liào hái yuán shí dài qū miàn mào
... What do we listen to when we are alive? CUHK professors check historical materials to restore the appearance of the times
我要为你演奏一首奏鸣曲。
Wǒ yào wèi nǐ yǎnzòu yī shǒu zòumíngqǔ.
I'll play a sonata for you.
她在钢琴上弹了一首华尔滋舞曲。
Tā zài gāngqín shàng tán le yī shǒu huā ěr zī wǔqǔ.
She played a waltz on the piano.
爱因斯坦预测太阳的引力会弯曲光线。
àiyīnsītǎn yùcè tàiyang de yǐnlì huì wānqū guāngxiàn.
Einstein predicted that the Sun's gravity would bend light.
汤姆有一只导盲犬，名叫曲奇。
Tāngmǔ yǒu yī zhī dǎomángquǎn, míngjiào qǔqí.
Tom has a guide dog named Cookie.
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 曲 (qū) mean in Chinese?
What's the difference between 曲 and 正?
How many strokes does 曲 have?
What is the radical of 曲?
What are the components of 曲?
What are common words containing 曲?
What characters sound the same as 曲 (qū)?
Is 曲 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 曲 with real-time feedback
Trace stroke sequences, hear spoken pronunciation, and build lasting retention with spaced repetition in the HanziFeed app.