演劇
えんげき · engeki · JLPT N2 · noun
play
🎭 演劇 = perform (演) + drama (劇): a performed drama, a stage play
演 means perform, as in 演技 (acting) and 表演 (performance). 劇 means drama, as in 劇場 (theatre). So 演劇 is a drama that is performed: theatre as an art form, or a single stage play.
演 — water 氵 + 寅 (yín, phonetic)
演 is a semantic-phonetic compound: the water radical 氵 gives the meaning, originally referring to water flowing far and spreading out, while 寅 supplies the sound. From 'water extending' it broadened to 'develop, elaborate, perform,' as in unfolding a story or acting out a play.