尾声

• Pinyin: wěi shēng
• Hanzi breakdown: 尾 = 尸 (person crouching) + 毛 (hair/tail) — tail, end; 声 = 耳 (ear) + 殳 (weapon/phonetic) — sound, voice

Meaning

Epilogue; coda; final stage; the closing phase. The last part of a musical work, a performance, an event, a negotiation, or a period.

尾声 literally means the 'tail sound' — the final notes of a piece or the final moments of something. In music: a coda (the concluding section). In everyday language: 进入尾声 = to enter the final stage (of a meeting, conference, project, season, or year). Also used for the epilogue of a novel or the closing scenes of a film. Carries a reflective, winding-down, or conclusive tone.

Examples

1. 交响乐在激昂磅礴的尾声中落幕，台下的观众爆发出经久不息的掌声。 The symphony closed in a stirring, thunderous coda, and the audience erupted in applause that went on and on.
2. 漫长的谈判终于进入尾声，双方代表的脸上都流露出如释重负的神情。 The lengthy negotiations finally entered their final stage, and relief was written across the faces of both sides' representatives.
3. 这部小说的尾声以一段意味深长的独白，将全书的主题升华到了新的高度。 The novel's epilogue — a single, meaning-laden monologue — elevated the themes of the entire book to a new height.

Usage Guide

Context: music, events, literature, everyday

Tone: neutral

Do Say

• 整个活动已进入尾声，请各位嘉宾稍作准备，我们即将进行最后的颁奖环节。(The event is now in its closing stage — please, guests, make ready; we are about to move into the final awards ceremony.)
• 随着冬天进入尾声，城市里的人们开始期待着春天的到来。(As winter nears its end, people in the city are starting to look forward to the arrival of spring.)

Don't Say

• 将尾声与结尾、结局混淆 — 尾声 specifically implies the gradual, drawn-out closing phase or a formal coda; 结局 is the outcome/ending; 结尾 is the final part of a piece of writing or story

Origin & History

Compound of 尾 (tail, end — 尸 person crouching + 毛 hair/tail) + 声 (sound, voice — 耳 ear + 殳 weapon/phonetic). Together: the 'tail sound' — the final notes or closing moments of something, by analogy with the coda of a musical work.

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal