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木偶戏 (mù ǒu hū) — puppet show; puppet play

Definition

noun
puppet showpuppet play
Measure word · 场

Examples

  • 木偶戏。
    Zuó tiān wǒ qù jù yuàn kàn le yì chǎng mù ǒu hū.
    Yesterday I went to the theater and watched a puppet show.
  • 木偶戏。
    Zhè zhǒng chuán tǒng mù ǒu hū fēi cháng yǒu qù.
    This kind of traditional puppet show is very interesting.
  • 木偶戏。
    Hái zi men dōu xǐ huan kàn mù ǒu hū.
    Children all like to watch puppet shows.

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.

木偶puppet
木mùwood偶ǒupuppet
偏正Modifier + head
戏xìplay

木偶 is a puppet made of 木, naming the kind of 戏, so it means puppet show.

Characters in this word

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

木 is drawn as a tree, with branches above and roots below.

Open 木 →

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
亻Written in full as人rénperson
Sound part声符shēngfú
禺
禺yú偶ǒu
Same sound today

偶 pairs 亻 (person) with 禺 for the sound. The evidence describes it as a statue of a person, an idol.

Open 偶 →

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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