唱对台戏 (chàng duì tái xì) — to put on a rival show; to openly oppose or compete with someone

Definition

A fixed expression meaning to openly oppose or compete with someone, often by staging a rival event. Used figuratively, not literally for theater.

verb
to put on a rival showto openly oppose or compete with someone

Examples

  • 唱对台戏。
    Tā men liǎ zǒng shì zài huì shàng chàng duì tái xì.
    They are always putting on rival shows at the meetings.
  • ？。
    Nǐ chàng shén me duì tái xì? wǒ men míng míng kě yǐ hé zuò.
    What rival show are you putting on? We could clearly cooperate.
  • 。
    Zhè jiā gōng sī gù yì gēn wǒ men chàng le yì chū duì tái xì.
    That company deliberately put on a rival show against us.

Origin

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
口口kǒu
Sound part声符shēngfú
昌
昌chāng唱chàng
Same sound today

The 口 part points to the mouth, while 昌 shows how the character is pronounced.

Open 唱 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 對; 对 is its simplified writing.

For the traditional form 對, the shape comes from an early drawing of 丵 (a digging tool), 土 (earth), and 又 (a hand); it may have meant developing land.

Open 对 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 臺; 台 is its simplified writing.

The simplified 台 stands for more than one traditional character. In most words (窗台, 电视台) it is 臺; in others (台灯, 台球) (台风) it is 檯 or 台 or 颱.

The traditional form 臺 is the 喬 + 室 form; earlier versions combined a sound part with 室, and an old reading saw it as a watch tower.

Open 台 →

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 戲; 戏 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
戈戈gēhalberd
Sound part声符shēngfú
䖒
䖒䖒戲xì
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In the traditional form 戲, the shape combines 戈 (halberd) with 䖒, which gives the sound; the word originally meant an army's wing or flank. The simplified 戏 is a later shorthand, not the form described here.

Open 戏 →

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.