Chinese Character: 剧
1. Character Basics
Radical: 刂/dāo (knife radical)
Stroke Count: 10
Stroke Order:
2. Pronunciation
Pinyin: jù (fourth tone)
3. Meaning
drama, play, theater, opera, severe, acute, intense
4. Common Words
- 戏剧 (xì jù) - drama, play
- 电视剧 (diàn shì jù) - TV drama, television series
- 剧本 (jù běn) - script, play
- 剧场 (jù chǎng) - theater
- 剧烈 (jù liè) - intense, violent
- 剧情 (jù qíng) - plot, storyline
5. Grammar & Usage
As a noun (related to theater): 这部戏剧很精彩 (zhè bù xì jù hěn jīng cǎi) - This drama is very精彩
As an adjective (meaning intense): 天气发生了剧烈变化 (tiān qì fā shēng le jù liè biàn huà) - The weather has undergone intense changes
In compound words: 京剧 (jīng jù) - Beijing Opera, 话剧 (huà jù) - spoken drama
Common structure: [type] + 剧 - indicating different types of performances
Note: Can be used in both cultural and descriptive contexts
6. Cultural Background
Chinese traditional opera (戏曲 xì qǔ) has a history of over 2,000 years
Beijing Opera (京剧 jīng jù) is one of the most famous traditional Chinese operas
Other important forms include Kunqu (昆曲 kūn qǔ), Yue Opera (越剧 yuè jù), and Huangmei Opera (黄梅戏 huáng méi xì)
The character 剧 originally meant "severity" but later expanded to include theatrical performances
Modern Chinese TV dramas have gained popularity worldwide, especially in Asia
7. Example Sentence
Chinese: 我喜欢看中国传统戏剧，尤其是京剧。
Pinyin: Wǒ xǐ huan kàn zhōng guó chuán tǒng xì jù, yóu qí shì jīng jù.
Translation: I like watching traditional Chinese operas, especially Beijing Opera.
8. Memory Tips
The character 剧 consists of 居 (jū - live, reside) and 刂 (dāo - knife)
Think of "emotions cut (刂) deeply in a play (剧)" or "intense (剧烈) like a knife cut"
The character has 10 strokes
Remember the most common words like 电视剧 (TV drama) and 戏剧 (drama)
The 刂 radical suggests something sharp or intense