Meanings
plural guzhengs · alternative gu zheng
- A zither-like stringed instrument with at least eighteen strings and moveable bridges, played with a plectrum, originating in the traditional music of China.
Then the next moment, to an “oooh” from the seats around me, the spotlight picked out Chou playing the guzheng, a Chinese plucked zither.
2024 January 20, Ludovic Hunter-Tilney, “An Asian megastar who fills arenas in Europe–so who is he?”, in FT Weekend (Life & Arts section), London: The Financial Times Ltd., →ISSN, →OCLC, page 14Synonyms: zheng, Chinese zither
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA zither-like stringed instrument with at least eighteen strings and moveable bridges, played with a plectrum, originating in the traditional music of China.
Origin
- Mandarin古箏 /古筝
- Englishguzheng
From the Hanyu Pinyin romanization of Mandarin 古箏 /古筝 (gǔzhēng).
More words from Mandarin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Chinese Cantonese 古箏 /古筝
- 古箏 /古筝 (gu² zang¹)zither-like stringed instrument
Chinese Mandarin 古箏 /古筝, 箏 /筝
- 古箏 /古筝 (gǔzhēng)zither-like stringed instrument
- 箏 /筝 (zhēng)zither-like stringed instrument
Japanese 古筝
- 古筝 (kosō)zither-like stringed instrument
Korean 쟁, 고쟁
- 쟁 (jaeng)zither-like stringed instrument
- 고쟁 (gojaeng)zither-like stringed instrument
Russian гучжэ́н
- гучжэ́н (gučžɛ́n)zither-like stringed instrument
Thai กู่เจิง
- กู่เจิงzither-like stringed instrument
Vietnamese cổ tranh
- cổ tranhzither-like stringed instrument
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with guzheng
Cite this entry
guzheng. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/guzheng
“guzheng.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/guzheng. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “guzheng,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/guzheng.
Source: guzheng on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.