琴瑟不调 in English qin2 se4 bu4 tiao2 Meaning

Meanings

• out of tune
• marital discord, cf qin and se 琴瑟, two string instruments as symbol of marital harmony

Pinyin

qin2 se4 bu4 tiao2

Literal

Literal explanation, with pronunciation and meaning of each character.

琴qin2guqin 古琴[gu3 qin2] (a type of zither) 瑟se4a type of standing harp, smaller than konghou 箜篌, with 5-25 strings 不bu4(negative prefix) 调diao4to transfer