话剧 (huà jù) — modern drama, stage play | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

话剧 refers specifically to a modern stage play performed in a theater. Unlike 电视剧 (a TV show), it is watched live on stage; 戏剧 is the broader art form, and 剧院/剧场 are the venues where it happens.

noun

modern dramastage play

Measure word · 台, 部

Examples

话剧。
Jīn wǎn wǒ men yì qǐ qù kàn huà jù ba.
Let's go watch a stage play together tonight.
话剧。
Zhè bù huà jù de gù shi hěn xī yǐn rén.
The story of this play is very engaging.
。
Tā men zhèng zài zhǔn bèi yì tái xīn de huà jù.
They are preparing a new stage play.

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.

话剧 is a 剧 performed through 话, i.e. spoken drama rather than opera.

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 話; 话 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

言言yánword

Sound part声符shēngfú

𠯑

𠯑𠯑話huà

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 話, 言 relates to words and 𠯑 gives the sound; the simplified 话 is a shorthand, so its right side is not that sound part.

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.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 4 Film & Theater

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