TongTong
Sign in

首播 (shǒu bō) — to premiere, to broadcast for the first time

Definition

A compound verb meaning 'to premiere / broadcast for the first time', used for a TV show, film, or program's very first airing — not for later reruns.

verb
to premiereto broadcast for the first time

Examples

  • 首播。
    Zhè bù diàn shì jù jiāng yú xià zhōu wǔ shǒu bō.
    This TV series will premiere next Friday.
  • 首播。
    Zuó wǎn shǒu bō de xīn jié mù shòu dào le guān zhòng de hǎo píng.
    The new program that premiered last night received praise from viewers.
  • 首播。
    Tā men jué dìng zài chūn jié nà tiān shǒu bō zhè bù diàn yǐng.
    They decided to premiere this movie on Spring Festival day.

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.

首shǒufirst
播bōbroadcast

“首” means first and “播” means broadcast, so the word expresses the first broadcast or premiere.

Characters in this word

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

The shape comes from an old drawing of an animal's head, showing a long mouth and horns; the version with hair became 首.

Open 首 →

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
扌Written in full as手shǒuhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
番
番fān播bō
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

播 is built from 扌, a hand radical, plus 番 as a sound part. The hand part marks it as something done by hand.

Open 播 →
Appears in
Media & NewsFilm & Theater

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.