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公演 (gōng yǎn) — to perform publicly (v.); public performance; a public show (n.)

Definition

公演 is a formal word for staging a work publicly (a play, music, dance) — not casual or private practice. As a noun, it refers to the performance itself, paired with the measure word 场.

to perform publicly (v.)public performancea public show (n.)
Measure word · 场

Examples

  • 公演。
    Zhè ge jù tuán měi nián dōu huì gōng yǎn yí cì.
    This troupe performs a public show once every year.
  • 公演。
    Zhè chǎng gōng yǎn xī yǐn le shàng qiān míng guān zhòng.
    This public performance attracted over a thousand spectators.
  • 公演。
    Tā men zhǔn bèi zài yīn yuè tīng gōng yǎn xīn zuò pǐn.
    They plan to perform new works publicly at the concert hall.

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.

公gōngpublic
演yǎnperform

公 as public and 演 as perform give a public performance.

Characters in this word

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

One theory sees 公 as a picture of a wide-mouthed, round-bottomed jar.

Open 公 →

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
Dance & Performance

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