剧组
jù zǔ · HSK 7
cast and crew
🎬 剧 drama/play + 组 group/team = the drama group, i.e. the cast and crew
剧 means a play or drama (same 剧 as in 戏剧 theatre); 组 means a group or team (as in 小组). Put together, 剧组 is the team behind a production: the performers plus the crew.
剧 — 豦 (tiger+pig) + 刂 knife radical
Originally written 劇, a phono-semantic compound: 豦 (jù, a fierce beast) gives the sound, while 刂 (knife) suggests intensity or cutting action. The original meaning was 'severe' or 'intense,' later extended to 'drama/play' since theatrical performances were dramatic and intense. 剧 is the simplified form.
组 — silk radical 糹 + 且 (zǔ phonetic)
组 is a semantic-phonetic compound. The silk radical 糹 signals the original meaning of weaving or braiding cords of silk threads together, while 且 supplies the sound zǔ. From 'braided cord' the meaning extended to 'group' or 'to organize,' since braiding bundles strands into one unit.