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悲剧 meaning in English

bēijù

tragedy

HSK 5nounTraditional 悲劇22 strokes

Meaning of 悲剧

Definitions from CC-CEDICT.

bēijù
  1. tragedy

Measure word: 齣|出

How to use 悲剧

悲剧 is used for tragic plays and stories, and also for real-life tragic events or outcomes. In casual speech people use it jokingly for small disasters. Example: 这真是一场悲剧。(Zhè zhēn shì yì chǎng bēijù.) This is truly a tragedy.

悲 (bēi) means sorrow, and 剧 (jù) means drama or play, as in 话剧 (huàjù) and 京剧 (jīngjù). A sorrowful drama is a tragedy. You can also notice the heart 心 at the bottom of 悲, since sadness is felt in the heart.

Common mistake: Learners sometimes write 悲剧 with 居 alone or mix up 剧 (jù) with 据 (jù, according to), which has the hand radical 扌 instead of the knife 刂 on the right. Also keep 悲 in first tone, bēi, not bèi.

悲剧 in example sentences

Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.

这zhè将jiāng是shì一yí个gè可kě怕pà的de悲bēi剧jù。
This would be a terrible tragedy.
莎shā士shì比bǐ亚yà的de麦mài克kè白bái是shì一yī部bù悲bēi剧jù。
Shakespeare's "Macbeth" is a tragedy.
我wǒ喜xǐ欢huān以yǐ悲bēi剧jù收shōu场chǎng的de故gù事shì。
I like stories that have sad endings.
所suǒ有yǒu悲bēi剧jù都dōu由yóu死sǐ亡wáng终zhōng结jié。
All tragedies end with a death.
死sǐ一yí个gè人rén是shì悲bēi剧jù；死sǐ上shàng万wàn人rén是shì数shù据jù。
A single death is a tragedy, a million deaths is a statistic.

Stroke order for each character

Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.

悲 bēi · sorrow · 12 strokes

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5
  6. 6
  7. 7
  8. 8
  9. 9
  10. 10
  11. 11
  12. 12

剧 jù · theatrical work · 10 strokes

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5
  6. 6
  7. 7
  8. 8
  9. 9
  10. 10

Related words

Words that share a character with 悲剧.

剧场jùchǎngtheater
电视剧diànshìjùTV series; TV drama
连续剧liánxùjùTV series
话剧huàjùstage play; modern drama
京剧jīngjùBeijing opera
悲伤bēishāngsad; sorrowful
剧本jùběnscript; screenplay; scenario; libretto
戏剧xìjùa drama; a play; theater; script of a play
喜剧xǐjùa comedy
悲惨bēicǎnmiserable; tragic
可悲kěbēilamentable
剧院jùyuàntheater

Questions about 悲剧

What does 悲剧 mean?

悲剧 (bēijù) means "tragedy" and is used as a noun.

How do you write 悲剧?

悲剧 is made of 2 characters: 悲 (12 strokes), 剧 (10 strokes). That is 22 strokes in total.

Is 悲剧 an HSK word?

Yes. 悲剧 is on the HSK 5 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.

How is 悲剧 written in traditional Chinese?

In traditional characters, 悲剧 is written 悲劇.

What is the opposite of 悲剧?

The opposite is 喜剧 (xǐjù), comedy. 喜 means joy, so it is a joyful drama.

What measure word goes with 悲剧?

Use 场 (chǎng) for tragic events, as in 一场悲剧, or 部 (bù) for a tragic play or film, as in 一部悲剧.

难以Previous in HSK 5nányǐ