楔子 (xiē zi) — wedge; peg (a tapered piece used to secure or fill gaps); prologue; interlude (in a traditional Chinese drama or novel)
Definition
Two distinct senses share this word: a physical wedge/peg used to secure or split, and a literary prologue in classical Chinese drama or fiction that sets up the main story.
noun
wedgepeg (a tapered piece used to secure or fill gaps)prologueinterlude (in a traditional Chinese drama or novel)
Measure word · 个
Examples
- 楔子。Mù jiàng yòng xiē zi bǎ zhuō tuǐ gù dìng zhù.The carpenter used a wedge to secure the table leg.
- 楔子。Zhè běn xiǎo shuō de xiē zi jiāo dài le gù shi de qǐ yīn.The prologue of this novel explains the cause of the story.
- ，楔子。Zài jiù shì xì tái lǐ, xiē zi yě zhǐ kāi chǎng de xiǎo duàn.In old-style theaters, wedge also refers to a short opening segment.
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