诗歌

The Chinese word "诗歌" (shī gē) for "poetry" is a compound of two characters: "诗" (shī) and "歌" (gē). The character "诗" originally meant "to speak" or "to express oneself", and was later used to refer to poetry in general. The character "歌" originally meant "to sing" or "to chant", and was later used to refer to songs and poems that were meant to be sung. The combination of these two characters creates the word "诗歌", which refers to poetry in general, including both poems that are meant to be read and poems that are meant to be sung.