Chinese

		to rise and fall; to modulate
trad. (抑揚頓挫)		抑揚	頓挫
simp. (抑扬顿挫)		抑扬	顿挫
Literally: “falling, rising, pausing and turning”.

Idiom

抑揚頓挫

1. rising and falling in cadence; intonation; speaking in measured tones; (of speech) cadenced