舞蹈 (wǔ dǎo) — dance (as a performance art); dancing

Definition

舞蹈 is the noun 'dance' as an art form (舞蹈表演 dance performance, 学舞蹈 to study dance). As a verb, use 跳舞; 舞 alone is more literary.

noun

dance (as a performance art)dancing

Measure word · 个

Examples

舞蹈。
Tā cóng xiǎo jiù xǐ huan wǔ dǎo.
She has liked dancing since she was a child.
舞蹈。
Zhè chǎng wǔ dǎo biǎo yǎn fēi cháng jīng cǎi.
This dance performance is very wonderful.
舞蹈？
Nǐ xué guò nǎ zhǒng wǔ dǎo?
What kind of dance have you studied?

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

舞wǔdance

蹈dǎostep

“舞” means dance, and “蹈” means step or tread, together describing rhythmic movement.

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

舛舛chuǎnsteps, feet in convergent direction

Sound part声符shēngfú

無

無wú舞wǔ

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

足足zú

Sound part声符shēngfú

舀

舀yǎo蹈dǎo

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

蹈 is made of 足, a foot, and 舀; the foot part shows it is about foot actions, and 舀 gives the sound.

Open 蹈 →

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 5 HSK 2.0 Level 6 Dance & Performance 2000 Most Frequent Chinese Words 3000 Most Frequent Chinese Words 5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words