歌剧
gējù · HSK 7
opera
🎭🎶 歌剧 = 歌 (song) + 剧 (drama) — sung drama, i.e. opera
Compound: 歌 means song and 剧 means drama or play, so 歌剧 literally reads as song-drama — the standard Chinese term for opera and operatic works.
歌 — 哥 (phonetic 'gē') + 欠 (open mouth)
A semantic-phonetic compound. The right side 欠 depicts a person with an open mouth, supplying the meaning of singing or vocalizing. The left side 哥 gives the sound 'gē'. Together they form the verb and noun for 'song' or 'to sing'.
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.