戏剧
xìjù · HSK 5
dramatic work
🎭 戏剧 = play/drama + intense/theatrical = a dramatic work
戏 means play or show; 剧 means drama or intense. Together 戏剧 names a staged dramatic work or theatrical piece. The 剧 character also appears in 京剧 (Peking opera).
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).
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.