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戏院 (xì yuàn) — theater (especially for traditional Chinese opera or stage performances)

Definition

noun
theater (especially for traditional Chinese opera or stage performances)
Measure word · 家

Examples

  • 戏院。
    Wǒ men jīn wǎn qù xì yuàn kàn jīng jù.
    We're going to the theater tonight to watch Peking opera.
  • 戏院。
    Zhè jiā xì yuàn yǐ jīng yǒu wǔ shí nián de lì shǐ le.
    This theater already has a history of fifty years.
  • 戏院。
    xì yuàn Mén kǒu yǒu hěn duō rén zài pái duì mǎi piào.
    There are many people queuing to buy tickets at the theater entrance.

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.

戏xìperformance
院yuànvenue

「戏」 names the performance, and 「院」 the venue where it is staged.

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.

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 →

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
阝Written in full as阜fù
Sound part声符shēngfú
完
完wán院yuàn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

院 is built from 阝, written in full as 阜, and 完, which gives the sound.

Open 院 →
Appears in
Film & Theater

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