Chinese word

小品

Pronunciation

Pinyinxiǎo pǐn

Meaning

nouncomedy sketch

Example

春晚上的小品总是很受欢迎。chūn wǎn shàng de xiáo pǐn zǒng shì hěn shòu huān yíng

The comedy sketches on the Spring Festival Gala are always popular.

More examples

他在学校晚会上表演了一个小品，逗得大家哈哈大笑。tā zài xué xiào wǎn huì shàng biáo yǎn le yí gè xiáo pǐn dòu de dà jiā hā hā dà xiào

He performed a comedy sketch at the school party and made everyone laugh out loud.

Core concept

A brief acted story whose limited size concentrates attention on dialogue, performance, and a humorous ending.

Common phrases

上演小品shàng yǎn xiáo pǐn
perform a comedy sketch
小品节目xiáo pǐn jié mù
comedy sketch show
小品演员xiáo pǐn yǎn yuán
comedy sketch actor

Similar words

短剧duǎn jù: A short dramatic piece performed on stage or shown on screen.
相声xiàng shēng: A traditional Chinese comic performance using spoken exchange and storytelling by one or two people.
脱口秀tuō kǒu xiù: A modern show in which one person speaks to the audience to make them laugh.
段子duàn zi: A short joke or funny story commonly shared by word of mouth or online.

Definition in Chinese

一种以对白和表演为主、结构短小以产生喜剧效果的表演形式，多见于晚会、综艺和小剧场。yì zhǒng yǐ duì bái hé biáo yǎn wéi zhǔ jié gòu duán xiǎo yǐ chǎn shēng xǐ jù xiào guǒ de biáo yǎn xíng shì duō jiàn yú wǎn huì zōng yì hé xiǎo jù chǎng

Word origin

小 (xiǎo, "small") + 品 (pǐn, "work or piece") literally suggests a small work, a fitting name for a short staged piece that came to denote comic performances.

Usage tips

Chinese uses different verbs for creating and performing this kind of work, so descriptions should distinguish writing it from acting it.

Other meanings

short playnoun

Opposites

长篇cháng piānlong worknoun
正剧zhèng jùstraight dramanoun

Related words

小品文xiáo pǐn wénshort prose piecenoun
小品集xiáo pǐn jíanthology of short worksnoun