charango

1 9.9

A small instrument with strings like a small guitar from the Andes used in folk music

noun
/tʃəˈræŋɡoʊ/

: charango

During the festival, the charango added a lively sound to the folk music performances.
charango player

Examples

Like the ukulele, the charango, with its five double courses of strings, is related to the guitar.

Academic text (2006)
While I played the charango and the children took turns keeping rhythm with the goat hooves, we performed the song with a dance.

Academic text (2006)
As our singer and charango player told me, "Remember that Japan did not just lose the war; they were also occupied by the victorious power."

Academic text (2006)
I also brought a percussion instrument made of goat hooves and a charango, the plucked lute of the Andes.

Academic text (2006)
As I was translating the guidebook, the Bolivian charango player, who was generally quite open to heated political and historical discussions, interrupted me and told me that he did not want to hear any more of my guidebook.

Academic text (2006)
One recording by Los Shapis features a medley of waynos in chicha style, and the piece begins with the use of a charango, a small stringed instrument associated with Andean musical culture.

Academic text (1990)
The charango is a small stringed instrument often used in traditional Andean music.
He strummed the charango gently, filling the room with beautiful melodies typical of South American culture.

Synonyms

tres

vscharango

1 9.7

A Cuban string instrument with three pairs of strings used in Latin music

is not built with paired strings and belongs to Andean musical tradition

pipa

vscharango

1 9.9

A Chinese string instrument with a pear-shaped body that you play by plucking the strings

is a small South American lute used in Andean music

mandola

vscharango

1 9.3

A string instrument like a mandolin but larger with a deeper sound

is much smaller and produces a higher brighter sound

bandura

vscharango

1 9.9

A Ukrainian string instrument like a lute with a rounded body and many strings

is small with fewer strings producing shorter brighter notes

vihuela

vscharango

Archaic

9.9

An old Spanish instrument like a small guitar played by plucking

is much smaller and used mainly in Andean folk music

Surface Forms

charango singular

charangos plural

Etymology

Charango comes from the Andes and probably from an old Quechua or Aymara word for a small string instrument; a helpful image is a tiny 'guitar' that was often made from an armadillo shell. So the name fits its modern meaning as a small instrument used in Andean music.