Meaning of 话剧
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- stage play
- modern drama
Measure word: 臺|台,部
How to use 话剧
话剧 refers to modern spoken theater performed on a stage, as opposed to traditional opera like 京剧 (jīngjù). It often goes with verbs like 看 (kàn) or 演 (yǎn). Example: 周末我们去看话剧吧。(Zhōumò wǒmen qù kàn huàjù ba.) Let's go see a play this weekend.
话 (huà) means speech and 剧 (jù) means drama, so 话剧 is a "speech drama": a play where actors tell the story by talking, not singing. Think of it as the spoken stage play, unlike Chinese opera.
Common mistake: Learners often use 话剧 for any drama, but a TV drama is 电视剧 (diànshìjù) and a film is 电影 (diànyǐng). Also keep both syllables in the fourth tone: huàjù, not huàjū.
话剧 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
话 huà · dialect · 8 strokes
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剧 jù · theatrical work · 10 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 话剧.
| 电话 | diànhuà | telephone; phone call |
| 说话 | shuōhuà | to speak; to say |
| 打电话 | dǎ diànhuà | to make a telephone call |
| 的话 | dehuà | if (coming after a conditional clause) |
| 讲话 | jiǎnghuà | a speech; to speak |
| 笑话 | xiàohua | joke; jest; to laugh at; to mock |
| 对话 | duìhuà | to talk (with sb); dialogue; conversation |
| 普通话 | pǔtōnghuà | Putonghua; standard Mandarin |
| 笑话儿 | xiàohuar | erhua form of 笑話|笑话[xiao4 hua5] |
| 谈话 | tánhuà | to talk (with sb); to have a conversation |
| 话题 | huàtí | subject (of a talk or conversation); topic |
| 剧场 | jùchǎng | theater |
Questions about 话剧
What does 话剧 mean?
话剧 (huàjù) means "stage play; modern drama" and is used as a noun.
How do you write 话剧?
话剧 is made of 2 characters: 话 (8 strokes), 剧 (10 strokes). That is 18 strokes in total.
Is 话剧 an HSK word?
Yes. 话剧 is on the HSK 3 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 话剧 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 话剧 is written 話劇.
What is the difference between 话剧 and 戏剧?
戏剧 (xìjù) is the broad word for drama or theater in general, including opera. 话剧 is the specific type of theater that relies on spoken dialogue.
What measure word is used with 话剧?
The most common measure words are 部 (bù) and 场 (chǎng). 一部话剧 refers to a play as a work, and 一场话剧 refers to one performance.