胡琴一词有二义：

一、唐宋时期，对于由北方及西北少数民族所传来乐器的泛称，不像后来仅限指拉弦乐器，如琵琶等亦包括在内，后期胡琴不但出现在北方，在南方的四川、广东、广西、湖南的戏剧中也有出现。

二、现今泛指中国民族乐器中，以弓弦磨擦琴弦，使之振动以发出声音的拉弦乐器。包括传统的二胡（又称南胡）、板胡、京胡、粤胡、四胡、坠胡、椰胡等，以及近现代配合民族乐团的出现所改良发展出的高胡、中胡、革胡等。

Huqin (Chinese:胡琴; pinyin:húqín) is a family of bowed string instruments, more specifically, a spike fiddle popularly used in Chinese music. The instruments consist of a round, hexagonal, or octagonal sound box at the bottom with a neck attached that protrudes upwards. They also have two strings (except the sihu, which has four strings tuned in pairs) and their soundboxes are typically covered with either snakeskin (most often python) or thin wood. Huqin instruments have either two (or, more rarely, four) tuning pegs, one peg for each string. The pegs are attached horizontally through holes drilled in the instrument's neck. Most huqin have the bow hair pass in between the strings.