Cymbals
The cymbals in five languages — cymbals, piatti, Becken, cymbales
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Five languages
| Language | Name |
|---|---|
| Chinese | 钹 |
| English | cymbals |
| Italian | piatti |
| German | Becken |
| French | cymbales |
Cymbals are struck metal instruments played in pairs; orchestral scores use the plural. Italian piatti names their plate shape, while German Becken and French cymbales descend from Latin cymbalum. Among the five names only Chinese uses a single character, 钹; the others are plural because two plates normally clash together.
Watch out: Chinese 钹 and 镲 are often used interchangeably in folk practice, with sizes and shapes varying by region (a common usage); orchestral piatti are a hand-clashed pair, while a suspended cymbal is a separate single plate. Notation marks the stroke, not a pitch.
Read deeper → Cymbals · Drum Kit
Sources
- 各语种乐器名依通行音乐术语词典（参 The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, "Cymbals"）；本文为原创表述
Used for fact-checking only; all prose is original.