戏
xì · HSK 5
play
🎭 戏 = 又 (again) + 戈 (spear) — repeated stage combat is drama
戏 (xì) means drama, play, or show. The right side 戈 is a spear/halberd, hinting at staged combat; the left 又 means again. Together: mock-fighting performed again and again on stage — a play.
戏 — 戈 spear + 虚-variant 虍/seat (left)
Originally written 戲, combining a left element depicting a ceremonial vessel or tiger-headed seat with 戈 (spear/halberd) on the right, suggesting armed performance or mock combat. It came to mean 'play, drama, theatrical performance.' The modern simplified form 戏 keeps 戈 and replaces the complex left side with 又 (hand).