Usage patterns 三味線しゃみせん を 弾ひ く to play the shamisen
My grandmother is skilled at playing the shamisen.
三味線しゃみせん を 習なら う to learn/study the shamisen
My daughter has been learning the shamisen since last year.
三味線しゃみせん に 合あ わせて 〈 動詞どうし〉 〉 to do something (e.g. sing, dance) in time with the shamisen
She sang along to the shamisen.
Related words 三味線 is a three-stringed square-bodied lute played with a plectrum, more common in folk and theater music, whereas 琵琶 is a short-necked lute traditionally used for narrative storytelling.
三味線 is the normal modern word for the instrument, while 猫 in this sense is an old or dialectal nickname rarely used today.
箱 can refer to a shamisen only in limited traditional-entertainment contexts, whereas 三味線 is the normal everyday word for the instrument.
Don't confuse with 三味線 is a three-stringed lute played with a plectrum, while 琴 is a long zither with thirteen strings played with finger picks.
三味線 has a long neck and square body, whereas 琵琶 is a short-necked, pear-shaped lute often used for narrative music.
Etymology The shamisen was introduced to Japan from China via the Ryukyu Islands in the 16th century, evolving from the Chinese sanxian. The kanji 三味線 literally mean 'three-flavor strings', an ateji assignment.
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