Character 曲

In Mandarin, qū means bent; qǔ means music. Pinyin marks qū with the first, high-level tone and qǔ with the third, low dipping tone. 曲线 uses qū for a curve; 曲调 uses qǔ for a tune. Nearby characters show which reading fits.

What if someone sends only 曲?

Ask for the language and full phrase before translating it. In Mandarin, 曲 might point to a curve, distortion, song, or literary form. Korean uses the same han character as hanja 曲, read 곡; it can mean a musical piece or melody and serve as a unit for counting songs.

曲解 means to misrepresent an explanation; aimed at someone, it accuses them of twisting what was said. Use it only if you mean that criticism.

Where does 曲 come from?

曲 grew from an ancient Chinese sign for something bent. Forms in oracle-bone inscriptions—writing carved on bones for divination—and bronze inscriptions appear in records from the late second millennium BCE. The exact use of the oracle-bone examples is unclear; bronze examples mean “bent.” The pictured object is disputed: proposals include a bent implement, a container or basket, a silkworm tray, and a shaped field.

The musical sense is traditionally linked to a melody winding like a curve. From the Song–Jin to Yuan period, 曲 developed as a sung literary form, including drama and verse. 元曲 names that tradition.