píngmù shàng de gēcí hěn qīngchu.

The sentence breaks down like this:

屏幕上 = on the screen
的 = links a modifier to a noun
歌词 = lyrics
很 = very / a common adverb before adjectives
清楚 = clear

So the structure is:

[屏幕上的] [歌词] [很清楚]
= [the on-screen] [lyrics] [are clear]

A very literal gloss would be:

screen-on + de + lyrics + very + clear

The subject is 屏幕上的歌词 and the predicate is 很清楚.

In Mandarin, words like 上, 下, 里, 外 often come after a noun to show location. These are sometimes called localizers.

So:

• 屏幕上 = on the screen
• 桌子上 = on the table
• 墙上 = on the wall

This is normal Chinese word order. English says on the screen, but Chinese says screen + on.

Because here 屏幕上 is being used as part of a modifier before the noun 歌词.

• 屏幕上的歌词 = the lyrics on the screen

In this kind of noun-modifying phrase, 在 is often omitted.

You can sometimes say 在屏幕上的歌词, but it sounds heavier and is less natural in a simple sentence like this. The shorter 屏幕上的歌词 is the most common way to say it.

的 connects a modifier to a noun.

Here, 屏幕上 modifies 歌词, and 的 links them:

• 屏幕上的歌词 = the lyrics that are on the screen

You can think of 的 here as something like the ... that is ... or simply as a marker that turns 屏幕上 into a description of 歌词.

Without 的, the phrase would not sound right in standard Mandarin.

In standard Mandarin, that sounds unnatural here.

You normally need:

• 屏幕上的歌词

because 屏幕上 is describing 歌词, and 的 marks that relationship.

Chinese does sometimes omit 的 in very tight, fixed combinations, but this is not one of the normal cases. So for learners, it is best to use 屏幕上的歌词.

Because in Mandarin, adjectives can act as the predicate by themselves.

So:

• 歌词很清楚 = the lyrics are clear

You do not need a verb equivalent to are here.

This is very common in Chinese:

• 他很高 = he is tall
• 天气很好 = the weather is good
• 这个很贵 = this is expensive

Sometimes yes, but not always as strongly as English very.

In a simple descriptive sentence, 很 is often used before an adjective just to make the sentence sound natural and neutral. So:

• 歌词很清楚 often means simply the lyrics are clear

It may or may not feel strongly like very clear, depending on context and emphasis.

This is one of the first things English speakers notice in Chinese: 很 often appears where English would just use is + adjective.

Yes, but the tone changes.

• 歌词很清楚 = a neutral statement: the lyrics are clear
• 歌词清楚 = can sound more contrastive, emphatic, or context-dependent

Without 很, it may feel like:

• the lyrics are clear (unlike something else)
• the lyrics are clear now
• a shorter, more clipped style

So for a plain, standalone sentence, 很清楚 is the safest and most natural choice.

Here 清楚 means clear, in the sense of easy to see/read/understand.

With 歌词, it means the lyrics on the screen are displayed clearly enough to read.

清楚 is a very common everyday word. It can be used for many kinds of clarity:

• 看得清楚 = can see clearly
• 听清楚 = hear clearly
• 说清楚 = explain clearly

So in this sentence, it refers to visual clarity.

Both can mean clear, but there is a slight difference in feel.

• 清楚 is very common and broad in everyday speech
• 清晰 is a bit more formal and often used for images, sound, logic, or definition

In this sentence, both could work:

• 屏幕上的歌词很清楚
• 屏幕上的歌词很清晰

But 清楚 sounds very natural and conversational.

Chinese nouns usually do not change form for singular vs. plural.

So 歌词 can mean:

• lyric
• lyrics
• song words

In this sentence, English naturally translates it as the lyrics, because that is how we usually talk about the words of a song on a screen.

If you need to be more specific, Chinese adds other words:

• 一句歌词 = one line of lyrics
• 这些歌词 = these lyrics

In everyday speech, 清楚 is commonly pronounced qīngchu, with the second syllable in a neutral tone.

So:

• 清 = qīng
• 楚 = often neutral here: chu

That is why the pinyin is written qīngchu.

A few other useful pronunciations in the sentence:

• 屏幕 = píngmù
• 歌词 = gēcí
• 很 = hěn
• 上 = shàng
• 的 = usually neutral: de