Word.ws English Dictionary

konghou

Syllables: kong·hou

konghou noun: a plucked stringed instrument (chordophone) with a harp-like construction, originating in ancient Chinese music as a horizontal instrument but now made to be played vertically, and with strings that are double to allow for techniques like vibrato.

Noun

konghou (plural konghous)

  1. A plucked stringed instrument (chordophone) with a harp-like construction, originating in ancient Chinese music as a horizontal instrument but now made to be played vertically, and with strings that are double to allow for techniques like vibrato.

Forms of konghou

pluralkonghous
alternative formkonhou

Origin of konghou

From Mandarin 箜篌 (kōnghóu), from the name of this instrument in the local language of the region of Central Asia whence it came to China; the Sogdian name for the angular harp was [script needed] (cngryʾ /⁠čangaryā⁠/), [script needed] (cyngryʾ /⁠čingaryā⁠/), which derives perhaps from Turkic čingar.

Questions about konghou

What does konghou mean?
Konghou means a plucked stringed instrument (chordophone) with a harp-like construction, originating in ancient Chinese music as a horizontal instrument but now made to be played vertically, and with strings that are double to allow for techniques like vibrato.
What part of speech is konghou?
Konghou is a noun.
What is the plural of konghou?
The plural of konghou is konghous.

Words near konghou in the dictionary

  1. Kong Zi
  2. kongamato
  3. Kongbam
  4. kongbap
  5. kongguksu
  6. konghou
  7. konghous
  8. Kongish
  9. Kongkham
  10. Konglish
  11. Kongmoon

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: konghou (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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