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怯场 (qiè cháng) — to have stage fright, to get nervous performing or speaking in public

Definition

Means 'to have stage fright' — nervousness that hits you specifically when performing or speaking in front of an audience. It can split as a verb: 怯了场 / 怯过场.

verb
to have stage fright, to get nervous performing or speaking in public

Examples

  • ，怯场。
    Dì yī cì shàng tái yǎn jiǎng, tā yǒu diǎn qiè cháng.
    She had a bit of stage fright when giving her first speech on stage.
  • ，。
    Suī rán liàn xí le hěn duō biàn, kě tā hái shì qiè le chǎng.
    Even though he practiced many times, he still got stage fright.
  • ，。
    Wǒ cóng lái méi yǒu qiè guò chǎng, bù zhī dào wèi shén me jīn tiān zhè me jǐn zhāng.
    I've never had stage fright before — I don't know why I'm so nervous today.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

怯qièfear
场chǎngstage

怯 means to fear, and 场 is the stage, so the meaning is being afraid before performing.

Characters in this word

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 怯 →

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 場; 场 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
土土tǔearth
Sound part声符shēngfú
昜
昜yáng場chǎng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 場 pairs 土 (earth) with 昜 as a sound part; the simplified 场 is a later abbreviation, so its parts do not have that historical role.

Open 场 →
Appears in
Emotions & Feelings

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