expression, ichidan verb
sing with a melody; set to music
Used when adding a tune to words, such as chanting, singing, or setting lyrics to music. The phrase implies giving a melodic or rhythmic quality to spoken or written text.
彼は詩に節をつけて歌った。
He sang the poem to a melody.
この歌詞に節をつけてください。
Please set these lyrics to music.
Standard kanji spelling for the expression.
Variant using 付ける; both spellings are used.
節 alone means 'melody' or 'tune'; 節をつける is the verb phrase meaning 'to add a melody'.
Compound of 節 (ふし, 'melody, tune') + を + つける ('to attach, add'). Literally 'to attach a melody'.