剧院
jùyuàn · HSK 7
theater
🎭 剧 = drama/play + 院 = hall/institution; a drama-hall is a theater
院 shows up in many building words (医院 hospital, 学院 college) and means a walled institution or hall. Pair it with 剧 (drama) and you get the hall where dramas are staged. The pronunciation jùyuàn stacks those two readings: jù + yuàn.
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.
院 — left ear 阝(阜) + complete 完
院 is a semantic-phonetic compound. The left 阝 (from 阜, mound/hill) suggests walls or enclosed terrain, hinting at an enclosed space. The right 完 (wán) provides the sound and originally meant 'complete', so 院 came to mean a walled courtyard or institution like a hospital or academy.