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开场白 (kāi chǎng bái) — opening remarks; preamble (of speeches, meetings, articles); prologue (of a play, performance)

Definition

Opening remarks that introduce a speech, meeting, or article — spoken words, not a written preface. Differs from 序幕 (stage prologue as a narrative device) and 序言 (written preface to a book).

noun
opening remarkspreamble (of speeches, meetings, articles)prologue (of a play, performance)

Examples

  • 开场白，。
    Tā de kāi chǎng bái hěn yǒu xī yǐn lì, dà jiā mǎ shàng ān jìng le.
    His opening remarks were very engaging, and everyone immediately quieted down.
  • 开场白。
    Zhè bù huà jù de kāi chǎng bái xiě dé fēi cháng hǎo.
    The prologue of this play is written very well.
  • 开场白。
    Huì yì kāi chǎng bái yào jiǎn jié míng liǎo.
    The opening remarks of the meeting should be concise and clear.

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.

开场opening
开kāiopen场chǎngperformance
动宾Verb + object
白báiwords

开场 says the event begins, and 白 refers to spoken words, so the whole means opening remarks.

Characters in this word

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 開; 开 is its simplified writing.

  • 門門méndoor
  • 一一yīlatch and/or wooden pole that shuts a door
  • 廾廾gǒnga pair of hands

The traditional form 開 shows 廾, a pair of hands, and 一, a latch or pole, inside 門, a door: hands opening a latched door. The simplified 开 is a shorthand form, so its parts are not the original pieces.

Open 开 →

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 場; 场 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
土土tǔearth
Sound part声符shēngfú
昜
昜yáng場chǎng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 場 pairs 土 (earth) with 昜 as a sound part; the simplified 场 is a later abbreviation, so its parts do not have that historical role.

Open 场 →

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

白 is thought to picture either an acorn or a human head.

Open 白 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Communication & Speech

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