剧 (jù): theatrical work (play, opera, TV series etc), dramatic (change, increase etc), acute
剧 (jù) is a Chinese character meaning “theatrical work (play, opera, tv series etc).” Classified as HSK Level 4 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 居 (phonetic) and 刂 (semantic). It ranks #909 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 剧 knife. Its radical form 刂 (knife) appears in many related characters such as 分 (fēn, to divide), 别 (bié, to leave), 到 (dào, to reach).
Definitions
- theatrical work (play, opera, TV series etc)
- dramatic (change, increase etc)
- acute
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
Practice writing 剧 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 剧
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 剧本noun | jù běn | script | 6 |
| 喜剧noun | xǐ jù | a comedy | 6 |
| 悲剧noun | bēi jù | tragedy | 6 |
| 剧院noun | jù yuàn | theater | 4 |
| 戏剧noun | xì jù | a drama | 5 |
| 电视剧noun | diàn shì jù | TV series | 4 |
| 剧场noun | jù chǎng | theater | 5 |
| 剧烈adjective | jù liè | violent | 6 |
| 话剧noun | huà jù | stage play | 4 |
| 加剧verb | jiā jù | to intensify | 6 |
| 京剧noun | jīng jù | Beijing opera | 4 |
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 恶作剧 | è zuò jù | practical joke |
| 编剧 | biān jù | to write a play |
| 音乐剧 | yīn yuè jù | (theater, cinema) a musical |
| 歌剧 | gē jù | Western opera |
| 戏剧性 | xì jù xìng | dramatic |
| 剧情 | jù qíng | story line |
| 剧组 | jù zǔ | cast and crew |
| 闹剧 | nào jù | farce |
| 惨剧 | cǎn jù | tragedy |
| 舞台剧 | wǔ tái jù | stage play |
| 剧作家 | jù zuò jiā | playwright |
| 连续剧 | lián xù jù | serialized drama |
| 歌剧院 | gē jù yuàn | opera house |
| 剧团 | jù tuán | theatrical troupe |
| 剧目 | jù mù | theatrical piece (play or opera) |
剧 appears in 100 compound words: 21 as the first character, 71 as the last, and 8 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 剧 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Example Sentences
这部戏剧演出非常成功，观众反响热烈。
Zhè bù xìjù yǎnchū fēicháng chénggōng, guānzhòng fǎnxiǎng rèliè.
This play was very successful, with enthusiastic audience response.
苹果宣发《帝王计划》电视剧创世界纪录:3000 架无人机 152....
píng guǒ xuān fā dì wáng jì huá diàn shì jù chuàng shì jiè jì lù jià wú rén jī . . . .
Apple Sets World Record for 'The King's Plan' TV Series Promotion: 3,000 Drones, 152...
金融时报:特朗普对战争的新狂热终将以悲剧收场-FX168
jīn róng shí bào tè lǎng pǔ duì zhàn zhēng de xīn kuáng rè zhōng jiāng yǐ bēi jù shōu chǎng
Financial Times: Trump's New War Fever Will End in Tragedy - FX168
非常AI的一年 2026从剧场、美术馆到文学馆都疯AI
fēi cháng de yī nián cóng jù chǎng měi shù guǎn dào wén xué guǎn dōu fēng
2026: The Year of AI From theaters and art galleries to literary museums, everyone's going AI-crazy.
收假前追一波!最新烧脑神剧《莎拉的真伪人生》 结局翻转再翻转
shōu jiǎ qián zhuī yī bō ! zuì xīn shāo nǎo shén jù 莎 lā de zhēn wěi rén shēng jié jú fān zhuǎn zài fān zhuǎn
Binge-watch before the break ends! The latest mind-bending drama "Sarah's True and False Life" delivers twist after twist in its finale.
2026“欢乐春节·新春音乐会”在悉尼歌剧院举行
huān lè chūn jié xīn chūn yīn lè huì zài xī ní gē jù yuàn jǔ háng
2026 "Happy Chinese New Year - Chinese New Year Concert" held at Sydney Opera House
你看韩国电视剧吗？
Nǐ kàn Hánguó diànshìjù ma?
Do you watch Korean dramas?
据说《哈姆雷特》是写出来的最有意思的剧本。
Jùshuō 《 Hāmǔléitè 》 shì xiě chūlái de zuì yǒu yìsi de jùběn.
It is said that "Hamlet" is the most interesting play ever written.
所有悲剧都由死亡终结。
Suǒyǒu bēijù dōu yóu sǐwáng zhōngjié.
All tragedies end with a death.
这将是一个可怕的悲剧。
Zhè jiāng shì yī gè kěpà de bēijù.
This would be a terrible tragedy.
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
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Is 剧 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
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