TongTong
Sign in

惨剧 (cǎn jù) — tragedy; calamity; disaster

Definition

惨剧 is a 'tragedy / calamity' that has actually happened — a disastrous event with real human cost, not a dramatic work. Collocates with 发生, 造成, 夺去 to describe the event itself.

noun
tragedycalamitydisaster

Examples

  • 惨剧。
    Zhè chǎng cǎn jù duó qù le shù shí tiáo shēng mìng.
    This tragedy took dozens of lives.
  • 惨剧。
    Wǒ men dōu bú yuàn kàn dào zhè yàng de cǎn jù zài cì fā shēng.
    None of us want to see such a tragedy happen again.
  • 惨剧。
    Zhè bù xiǎo shuō jiǎng shù le yí gè jiā tíng de cǎn jù.
    This novel tells the tragedy of a family.

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.

惨cǎntragic
剧jùdrama

The 惨 tragic and 剧 drama combine to mean a tragic event or play.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 慘; 惨 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
心心xīnheart
Sound part声符shēngfú
參
參cān慘cǎn
Same sound today

The traditional form 慘 puts 心 (heart) with 參 as its sound part. The simplified 惨 is a later shorthand, so its shape is not the historical form.

Open 惨 →

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 劇; 剧 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
刀刀dāoknife
Sound part声符shēngfú
豦
豦jù劇jù
Same sound today

The traditional form 劇 pairs 豦, which gives the sound, with 刀, a knife; the simplified 剧 is a later shorthand.

Open 剧 →
Appears in
Abstract Concepts

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