叫板 (jiào bǎn) — (in Peking opera) to prolong a spoken line as a… | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

A two-sense verb: the technical opera sense (cues the orchestra before singing) and the colloquial 'to openly challenge / pick a fight.' Unlike 挑战, which is neutral and can be positive, 叫板 is always confrontational — calling someone out.

verb

(in Peking opera) to prolong a spoken line as a cue for the orchestra(coll.) to challenge or provoke (sb./sth./a system) openly

Examples

，叫板。
Jīng jù lǐ, yǎn yuán zài kāi chàng zhī qián yào xiān jiào bǎn.
In Peking opera, performers need to signal the musicians before starting to sing before starting to sing.
叫板。
Tā bù gǎn gēn jīng lǐ zhí jiē jiào bǎn.
He didn't dare to directly challenge the manager.
叫板。
Liǎng gè rén yīn wèi yì diǎn xiǎo shì jiù hù xiāng jiào bǎn.
The two challenged each other over a trivial matter.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

板bǎnclapper

叫 (call) and 板 (clapper) refer to calling the musical cue, hence openly challenging.

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.

口丩叫

Meaning part形符xíngfú

口口kǒumouth

Sound part声符shēngfú

丩

丩jiū叫jiào

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

叫 shows a mouth 口 and a sound part 丩. The mouth fits the old sense of shouting.

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

木反板

Meaning part形符xíngfú

木木mùtree

Sound part声符shēngfú

反

反fǎn板bǎn

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

板 pairs 木 (tree) with 反 as a sound part.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 7-9 Conflict & Agreement

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