单口相声 (dān kǒu xiàng shēng) — solo comic monologue / one-person stand-up comedy (traditional Chinese style)

Definition

A traditional Chinese comic performance by one performer alone, who voices all characters. Contrast with 对口相声 (two performers) and 群口相声 (three or more).

noun
solo comic monologue / one-person stand-up comedy (traditional Chinese style)

Examples

  • 单口相声。
    Tā biǎo yǎn de yí duàn dān kǒu xiàng shēng ràng quán chǎng guān zhòng dōu xiào dé tíng bú xià lái.
    His solo comic monologue had the entire audience laughing non-stop.
  • 单口相声，。
    dān kǒu xiàng shēng De nán dù hěn dà, yīn wèi yí gè rén yào mó fǎng hǎo jǐ zhǒng jué sè.
    Solo comic dialogue is very difficult because one person has to imitate several different characters.
  • 单口相声。
    Zuó tiān wǒ zài chá guǎn lǐ tīng le yí duàn chuán tǒng de dān kǒu xiàng shēng.
    Yesterday I listened to a traditional solo comic monologue at the teahouse.

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.

单口single mouth
单dānsingle口kǒumouth
偏正Modifier + head
相声comic dialogue
相xiāngmutual声shēngvoice
偏正Modifier + head

单口 is one mouth, and 相声 is mutual voices; together they name solo crosstalk.

Characters in this word

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 單; 单 is its simplified writing.

The form 單 originally pictured a Y-shaped wooden stick with two stones on top.

Open 单 →

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

The form 口 looks like an open mouth.

Open 口 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

In 相, 目 is an eye and 木 is a tree, showing an eye looking at a tree; this originally meant “to observe.”

Open 相 →

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 聲; 声 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
耳耳ěrear
Sound part声符shēngfú
殸
殸qìng聲shēng
Same sound today

The traditional form 聲 pairs 耳 (ear) with 殸 as a sound part; the simplified 声 is a shorthand and does not show those original parts.

Open 声 →

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