Chinese word

戏剧

Pronunciation

Pinyinxì jù

Meaning

  • nounplay

Example

昨晚我们去看了戏剧。zuó wǎn wǒ men qù kàn le xì jù

We went to see a play last night.

Illustration for 戏剧 (play)

More examples

学者讨论了这出古典戏剧的历史意义。xué zhě tǎo lùn le zhè chū gú diǎn xì jù de lì shǐ yì yì

Scholars discussed the historical meaning of this classical play.

Core concept

A live story takes shape before an audience through actors' speech and movement.

Common phrases

  • 古典戏剧gú diǎn xì jù

    classical play

  • 戏剧作品xì jù zuò pǐn

    theatrical work

Similar words

话剧huà jù: A spoken drama performed on stage with everyday modern dialogue.
戏曲xì qǔ: A traditional Chinese stage art using songs, music, and distinctive gestures to tell stories.
电视剧diàn shì jù: A story made for television and presented in a series of episodes.
表演biáo yǎn: An acting or artistic performance presented for an audience.

Definition in Chinese

以舞台表演为主，通过演员、台词和动作表现完整的故事或情感的表演艺术及其作品。yǐ wǔ tái biáo yǎn wéi zhǔ tōng guò yǎn yuán tái cí hé dòng zuò biǎo xiàn wán zhěng de gù shì huò qíng gǎn de biáo yǎn yì shù jí qí zuò pǐn

Word origin

戏剧 (xìjù, "drama") combines 戏 (xì, "performance") with 剧 (jù, "dramatic work"), joining the ideas of acting and an organized story.

Usage tips

  • English speakers may hear "drama" as conflict in real life, but this Chinese noun normally points to an artistic work or performance.

Other meanings

  • dramanoun

Opposites

Related words

  • 戏剧化xì jù huàmake dramaticverb
  • 戏剧感xì jù gǎnsense of dramanoun

Word lists with this word