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シロフォン

also: シロホン · ザイロフォン · ザイロフォウン · ジロフォン

シ

ロ

フォ

ン

Meanings

1

xylophone

Standard term for the percussion instrument; used in everyday and musical contexts.

子こ供どもがシロフォンを叩たたいて遊あそんでいる。
The child is playing the xylophone.
オーケストラでシロフォンが活かつ躍やくする曲きょくがある。
There are pieces where the xylophone plays an active role in the orchestra.

Don't confuse with

マリンバ
マリンバ and シロフォン are both wooden-bar mallet instruments, but シロフォン has a brighter, shorter tone and usually a smaller range.

Written forms

シロホン
Variant spelling using ホ instead of フォ; less common but still encountered.
ザイロフォン
rarely-used kana form
Rarely used kana form; closer to the original Greek-derived pronunciation.

Etymology

Borrowed from English 'xylophone', ultimately from Greek xylon 'wood' + phōnē 'sound'. The spelling シロフォン reflects the English pronunciation, while ザイロフォン is closer to the Greek.