合演 (hé yǎn) — to co-star; to perform together

Definition

合演 means to perform or star in the same production together — used of two or more actors, not a solo role. Often used in titles like 联合主演-style credits to stress the joint appearance.

verb
to co-starto perform together
Easily confused

Examples

  • 合演。
    Tā men liǎng wèi zài diàn yǐng lǐ hé yǎn le yí gè zhòng yào de piàn duàn.
    The two of them co-starred in an important scene in the movie.
  • 合演，。
    Zhè bù huà jù yóu liǎng wèi zhù míng yǎn yuán hé yǎn, fēi cháng jīng cǎi.
    This play was co-performed by two famous actors and was very brilliant.
  • 合演。
    Tā men dì yī cì hé yǎn jiù chǎn shēng le hěn hǎo de huà xué fǎn yìng.
    They had great chemistry the very first time they performed together.

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.

合hétogether
演yǎnperform

合 (together) and 演 (perform) mean to co-star or perform together.

Characters in this word

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

合 shows 亼 and 口 arranged as two mouths speaking together.

Open 合 →

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

Meaning part形符xíngfú
氵Written in full as水shuǐ
Sound part声符shēngfú
寅
寅yín演yǎn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

演 pairs 氵 (water) with 寅, which gives the sound yín.

Open 演 →

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