马戏团 (mǎ xì tuán) — circus (troupe/company)

Definition

noun
circus (troupe/company)
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 马戏团。
    Hái zi men fēi cháng xǐ huan kàn mǎ xì tuán de biǎo yǎn.
    Children really enjoy watching circus performances.
  • 马戏团。
    Zhè ge mǎ xì tuán lǐ yǒu dà xiàng hé lǎo hǔ.
    This circus has elephants and tigers.
  • 马戏团。
    mǎ xì tuán De yǎn yuán dōu shì cóng shì jiè gè dì lái de.
    The performers in the circus come from all over the world.

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.

马戏horse show
马mǎhorse戏xìshow
偏正Modifier + head
团tuántroupe

马戏 means horse show and 团 means troupe, so the word names a circus company.

Characters in this word

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 馬; 马 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 馬 shows a horse with its head facing left, a flowing mane, and two legs standing vertically.

Open 马 →

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 →

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 團; 团 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
囗囗wéi
Sound part声符shēngfú
專
專zhuān團tuán
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The form 團 combines 囗 as a meaning part with 專 as a sound part; the story is about 團, not about 团.

Open 团 →
Appears in
Dance & Performance5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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