喜劇
きげき · kigeki · JLPT N1 · noun
comedy
🎭 喜劇 = 喜 (joy) + 劇 (drama): a joyful drama, i.e. comedy
喜 means joy and 劇 means drama or play. Put together they give a play built around joy, which is a comedy.
喜 — drum 壴 (top) + mouth 口 (bottom)
Originally a pictograph showing a drum (壴) above a mouth (口), depicting people singing or shouting joyfully alongside drumming at a celebration. The combination conveyed festive happiness, and the character came to mean 'joy' or 'to like.' The drum element 壴 itself depicts a drum on a stand.