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上演 (shàng yǎn) — to stage (a play, performance); to screen (a movie, TV show)

Definition

上演 is a verb for putting on performances or screenings — works for both stage plays and films. Compared to 上映 (movies only) and 放映 (projecting a film), 上演 is the broadest, covering theater and screen.

verb
to stage (a play, performance)to screen (a movie, TV show)

Examples

  • 上演。
    Zhè bù xīn huà jù xià zhōu shàng yǎn.
    This new play is staging next week.
  • 上演。
    Diàn yǐng yuàn zhèng zài shàng yǎn yí bù dòng huà piàn.
    The cinema is screening a cartoon.
  • 上演。
    Nà ge jié mù yǐ jīng shàng yǎn le hěn jiǔ le.
    That show has been running for a long time.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

上shàngto put on
演yǎnperformance

上 conveys putting on, and 演 refers to the performance, giving the sense of staging.

Characters in this word

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

上 is drawn as a short horizontal line placed above a longer arc, marking a position above that arc.

Open 上 →

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
氵Written in full as水shuǐ
Sound part声符shēngfú
寅
寅yín演yǎn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

演 pairs 氵 (water) with 寅, which gives the sound yín.

Open 演 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Film & Theater5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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