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拍戏 (pāi xì) — to shoot a film; to film a scene

Definition

离合词 meaning 'to film / shoot a scene or movie'. Insert 了, 过, or time/place words between 拍 and 戏 (拍了三天戏, 在户外拍戏).

verb
to shoot a filmto film a scene

Examples

  • 拍戏，。
    Tā zuì jìn zhèng zài pāi xì, měi tiān dōu hěn máng.
    He is currently filming a movie, so he's very busy every day.
  • 。
    Zhè wèi dǎo yǎn míng nián yào pāi yí bù gǔ zhuāng xì.
    This director is going to shoot a period film next year.
  • ，。
    Yǎn yuán men zài hù wài pāi le sān tiān xì, hěn xīn kǔ.
    The actors filmed outdoors for three days — it was very tough.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

拍pāishoot
戏xìplay

拍, meaning shoot, combines with 戏, meaning play, to describe filming a scene.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
手手shǒuhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
白
白bái拍pāi
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

拍 puts 手 (hand) beside 白, which gives the pronunciation.

Open 拍 →

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 戲; 戏 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
戈戈gēhalberd
Sound part声符shēngfú
䖒
䖒䖒戲xì
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In the traditional form 戲, the shape combines 戈 (halberd) with 䖒, which gives the sound; the word originally meant an army's wing or flank. The simplified 戏 is a later shorthand, not the form described here.

Open 戏 →
Appears in
Film & Theater

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