Pizzicato is a way of playing a string instrument — violin, viola, cello, double bass — by pulling the string with a finger instead of using the bow. The note comes out short and springy, more like a pluck than a long singing sound. Players and scores often shorten it to pizz., and then arco tells you to go back to the bow. You will meet it in classical music most of all, though actually composers use it in film music and other styles too when they want that dry little snap. It can name the instruction (play pizzicato) or the sound itself (a pizzicato on the cello). It is a musician’s word; everyday English almost never needs it unless someone is talking about an orchestra.

撥奏（樂譜上常寫 pizz.；再用弓時會標 arco。）