TongTong
Sign in

喜剧 (xǐ jù) — comedy (film, play, or genre)

Definition

喜剧 is 'comedy' — a play or film meant to make people laugh. The opposite of 悲剧 ('tragedy'); 戏剧 is the broader umbrella for drama/theater as an art form.

noun
comedy (film, play, or genre)
Measure word · 部, 出

Examples

  • 喜剧，。
    Wǒ zuì jìn kàn le yí bù xǐ jù, xiào dé dù zi téng.
    I recently watched a comedy and laughed until my stomach hurt.
  • 喜剧。
    Zhè bù xǐ jù de jié jú ràng wǒ hěn yì wài.
    The ending of this comedy surprised me a lot.
  • 喜剧？
    Nǐ xǐ huan kàn xǐ jù hái shì bēi jù?
    Do you prefer watching comedies or tragedies?

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.

喜xǐjoyful; comic
剧jùdrama

喜 gives a joyful or comic tone, 剧 is a drama, so it names comedy.

Characters in this word

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

喜 combines 壴, a drum, with 口, a mouth.

Open 喜 →

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 劇; 剧 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
刀刀dāoknife
Sound part声符shēngfú
豦
豦jù劇jù
Same sound today

The traditional form 劇 pairs 豦, which gives the sound, with 刀, a knife; the simplified 剧 is a later shorthand.

Open 剧 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 6Film & Theater3000 Most Frequent Chinese Words5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

Browse more HSK 6 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.