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笑星 (xiào xīng) — comedy star, funny celebrity (e.g., a crosstalk or sketch comedian)

Definition

A comedian famous as a performer — a 'star' of comedy (crosstalk, sketch, stand-up). Just a 喜剧演员 doing the job is not yet a 笑星; the word implies celebrity status.

noun
comedy starfunny celebrity (e.g., a crosstalk or sketch comedian)
Measure word · 位

Examples

  • 笑星。
    Zhè wèi xiào xīng de xiàng sheng fēi cháng shòu huān yíng.
    This comedy star's crosstalk is very popular.
  • 笑星。
    Hěn duō xiào xīng dōu cān jiā guò chūn jié lián huān wǎn huì.
    Many comedy stars have participated in the Spring Festival Gala.
  • 笑星。
    Tā cóng xiǎo jiù xiǎng dāng yì míng xiào xīng.
    He has wanted to be a comedy star since he was young.

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.

笑xiàolaugh
星xīngstar

The 笑 laugh and 星 star combine to name a comedy star.

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
犬犬quǎndog
Sound part声符shēngfú
艸
艸cǎo笑xiào
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

An early 笑 used the grass 艸 for the sound and the dog 犬 for the meaning; later it was written with 竹 and 夭.

Open 笑 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

The top of 星 is a later simplified form of 晶, twinkling stars; the bottom 生 shows the sound.

Open 星 →
Appears in
Film & Theater

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