5 Traditional Chinese Musical Instruments You Should Know + More

Everything You Need to Know About Traditional Chinese Musical Instruments 🎻 + BONUS Flashcards

Seen some interesting-looking musical instruments on your China and Taiwan travels and wondered what they’re called and how they’re played?

Look no further.

While there are hundreds of different types of traditional Chinese musical instruments, some you will see around and about more than others.

So we’re going to go through 5 Chinese musical instruments that we think you should all know, as they’re probably the most common ones you’ll see or hear about.

Chinese Musical Instruments || Erhu

Chinese Musical Instruments || Guzheng

Chinese Musical Instruments || Guqin

Chinese Musical Instruments || Dizi

Chinese Musical Instruments || Pipa

Chinese Musical Instruments || Instruments in Chinese

BONUS || Quiz

Chinese Musical Instruments || FAQs

Want to learn the names of instruments in Chinese? We’ve made a helpful video for that!

Chinese Musical Instruments || Er Hu 二胡

You will probably see the “erhu” around on your China travels.

You’ll often find amateurs and street musicians practising in public spaces, subways stations and on the streets.

The Erhu is sometimes translated as a “Southern Fiddle” in English – it’s a kind of Chinese-style violin with 2 strings, dating back to Tang Dynasty times (7th to 10th centuries).

Compared to other traditional Chinese instruments it’s relatively inexpensive.

Traditionally it was used in opera and orchestral performances, but today it is also a popular solo instrument.

• Erhu in Chinese Characters: 二胡
• Pinyin: èrhú
• English Name: “Southern Fiddle”

Chinese Musical Instruments || Guzheng 古筝

Said to be an ancestor of the Japanese Koto, early forms of the Guzheng date back to the Warring States period of Chinese history (more than 2,500 years ago).

It remained popular both in the Imperial court and among common people throughout Qing dynasty times and is still played in China today.

The Guzheng is often played at opera and concert performances in China, usually solo.

• Guzheng in Chinese Characters: 古筝
• Pinyin: Gǔzhēng
• English Name: “Chinese Zither”

Chinese Musical Instruments || Guqin 古琴

The Guqin is said to date back 3000 years, making it the oldest instrument on our list.

It is often considered “The Father of Chinese Music”, which is why it made the list.

The Guqin was very popular among scholars, but never really became accessible to the Chinese public.

• Guqin in Chinese Characters: 古琴
• Pinyin: Gǔqín
• English Name: “Ancient Zither”

Chinese Musical Instruments || Dizi 笛子

The Dizi is a kind of Chinese style flute, usually made of bamboo.

One of the holes is covered with paper to make a distinctive buzzing sound.

The Dizi a popular instrument in China as it’s a comparatively easy instrument to make and to learn.

It’s used in many genres of Chinese folk music and opera.

• Dizi in Chinese Characters: 笛子
• Pinyin: Dízi
• English Name: “Chinese Style Flute”

Chinese Musical Instruments || Pipa 琵琶

The Pipa is another traditional Chinese instrument with a long history, as it’s believed to date back around 2000 years.

Also known in English as a “Chinese Lute”, the Pipa has 4 strings and 16 frets.

The Pipa is often used to expressive and dramatic pieces of music due to it’s wide dynamic range of notes.

• Dizi in Chinese Characters: 琵琶
• Pinyin: pí pá
• English Name: “Chinese Lute”

More Musical Instruments in Chinese

One of the best ways to get your Chinese going is to learn about things you’re interested in…

So if you play a musical instrument or like music, you might find the following vocabulary section useful in conversations with your Chinese friends.

String Instruments in Chinese

Let’s take a look at some instruments you might be more familiar with.

DID YOU KNOW || 提琴 on it’s own means a member of the violin/string family, you’ll see with the names of other string instruments. 

How Do You Play String Instruments in Chinese?

Chinese is a complicated language.

Did you know there is more than one word for ‘playing’ an instrument in Chinese?

In general, the verb for play will depend on the action you do in order to play the instrument.

Seeing as most string instruments are plucked that’s exactly what you would say in Chinese:

FOR EXAMPLE || 她喜欢弹吉他  Tā xǐhuān tán jítā – she likes to play the guitar.

• Character: 弹 
• Pinyin: tán
• Meaning: To pluck, or play a stringed instrument

TOP TIP || A general term for playing a stringed instrument is to simply 弹琴 tánqín.

Percussion and Keys in Chinese

How Do You Play Keys and Percussion in Chinese?

Although 弹 means pluck, it’s also used as the word for playing the piano.

I mean technically a piano has strings, even though you don’t really pluck them.

• Character: 弹钢琴
• Pinyin: tán gāngqín
• Meaning: To play piano

The Chinese way of saying playing the Xylophone is a bit different. Again, it is based on the action used to play the instrument.

In this case, it’s taken from the word to knock/beat/strike – 敲 Qiāo. Makes sense!

• Character: 敲木琴
• Pinyin: Qiāo mùqín
• Meaning: To play the Xylophone

For the drums and tambourine, another word is used – 打 to hit/beat

• Character: 打鼓, 打手鼓
• Pinyin: Dǎgǔ, Dǎ shǒugǔ
• Meaning: Play drums, play the tambourine

Brass and Wind Instruments in Chinese

How Do You Play Brass and Wind Instruments in Chinese?

Thankfully for this set of instruments, there is only one word used to describe how to play them: 吹 meaning “blow”.

Example:

• Character: 吹长笛
• Pinyin: chuī chángdí
• Meaning: to play the flute

Of course there are plenty more instruments that we haven’t covered yet, so leave us a comment below if you’d like to know how to say an instrument that you play in Chinese.  

Chinese Musical Instruments || QUIZ

Time is Up!

Time's up

Musical Instruments in Chinese || FAQs

Want more from LTL?

If you wish to hear more from LTL Mandarin School why not join our mailing list.

We give plenty of handy information on learning Chinese, useful apps to learn the language and everything going on at our LTL schools!

Sign up below and become part of our ever growing community!

BONUS | Want to study the local Taiwanese dialect known as Hokkien? We provide Hokkien classes in person and online.