丑角 (chǒu jué) — clown role in Chinese opera; buffoon

Definition

A specific stock role in Chinese opera — the painted-face comic character whose job is to make the audience laugh. In everyday speech it also means any buffoon who acts silly for laughs.

noun
clown role in Chinese operabuffoon

Examples

  • 丑角。
    Tā zài jīng jù zhōng bàn yǎn yí gè chǒu jué.
    He plays a clown role in Beijing opera.
  • 丑角。
    Zhè ge chǒu jué de biǎo yǎn ràng guān zhòng xiào dé qián yǎng hòu hé.
    This clown's performance made the audience laugh uncontrollably.
  • 丑角。
    Bié zài zhèng shì chǎng hé dāng chǒu jué.
    Don't act like a buffoon in formal occasions.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

丑chǒuclown
角jiǎorole

丑 (clown) and 角 (role) combine to mean the clown role in opera.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 醜; 丑 is its simplified writing.

The simplified 丑 stands for more than one traditional character. In most words it is 醜; in others (丑) it is 丑.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
鬼鬼guǐghost, demon
Sound part声符shēngfú
酉
酉yǒu醜chǒu
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 醜 uses 鬼, a ghost or demon, to show ugliness and 酉 for sound; that shape is about 醜, not about 丑.

Open 丑 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The form 角 is a picture of a horn.

Open 角 →

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