歌舞伎 (gē wǔ jì) — (noun) Japanese traditional theater, Kabuki; (noun, archaic) woman who performed singing and dancing in ancient times

Definition

In modern Japanese it refers to Kabuki theater; in classical Chinese it meant a female singer-dancer. At HSK 7 the Japanese Kabuki sense is the one you'll meet.

noun
Japanese traditional theaterKabuki(noun, archaic) woman who performed singing and dancing in ancient times

Examples

  • 歌舞伎
    Wǒ zài dōng jīng kàn le jīng diǎn de 《zhōng chén cáng》 gē wǔ jì.
    I watched the classic Kabuki play 'Chushingura' in Tokyo.
  • 歌舞伎
    Táng dài gōng tíng zhōng yǒu xǔ duō shàn cháng gē wǔ jì de yì rén.
    The Tang court had many entertainers skilled in song and dance.
  • 歌舞伎
    gē wǔ jì De biǎo yǎn zhě dōu huà zhe bái sè liǎn pǔ, dòng zuò fēi cháng kuā zhāng.
    Kabuki performers all wear white face paint and their movements are very exaggerated.

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.

歌舞song and dance
songdance
联合Coordinate
performance

歌 and 舞 are song and dance, and 伎 denotes performance, naming Kabuki.

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
qiànblow
Sound part声符shēngfú
Same sound today

The shape 歌 uses 哥 for the sound and 欠, meaning blow. It came from a form of 哥 used for singing.

Open 歌 →

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
chuǎnsteps, feet in convergent direction
Sound part声符shēngfú
Same sound today

舞 combines 舛, showing feet in converging steps, with 無 above. 無 gave the sound and also preserved its older meaning of dancing, so the shape points to dancing.

Open 舞 →

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
rénperson
Sound part声符shēngfú
zhī
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

伎 combines 人, meaning “person,” with 支, which gives the sound.

Open 伎 →

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