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杀青 (shā qīng) — to complete (a film, book, etc.); to wrap up production; to heat-process (tea leaves); to kill-green

Definition

A literal compound (literally 'kill the green') with two senses: heat-processing tea leaves, or — by extension — wrapping up a film or book (i.e. 'calling it a wrap').

verb
to complete (a film, book, etc.)to wrap up productionto heat-process (tea leaves)to kill-green

Examples

  • 。
    Zhè bù diàn yǐng zhōng yú shā le qīng.
    This movie finally finished filming.
  • 杀青。
    Dǎo yǎn xuān bù míng tiān shā qīng.
    The director announced the wrap tomorrow.
  • 杀青。
    Zhè zhǒng lǜ chá xū yào shā qīng cái néng bǎo chí lǜ sè.
    This green tea needs to be heat-processed to keep its green color.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

杀shākill
青qīnggreen

To 杀 the 青, originally killing greenness in tea; now wrapping up a film.

Characters in this word

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 殺; 杀 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 殺 comes from an old drawing of a boar impaled in the head, with 人 and 又 added to show a person doing the killing; the simplified 杀 is a later abbreviation.

Open 杀 →

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

An early form of 青 combined 生 and 井, both used for sound; the modern form has changed.

Open 青 →
Appears in
Film & Theater

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