京剧 jīngjù Beijing Opera
How to remember 京剧: 京 capital + 剧 theatrical plays = Beijing Opera.
Characters
How it is used
- The proper noun for Beijing/Peking Opera, a traditional Chinese theatrical art form combining singing, acting, and acrobatics - 看京剧 (kàn jīngjù) watch a Peking Opera performance.
- 京 here is short for 北京 (Beijing), and 剧 means play/drama, also seen in 话剧 (huàjù, spoken drama) and 电视剧 (TV drama).
- Culturally significant and formal/traditional in register, distinct from everyday entertainment vocabulary.
Example sentences
- 京剧是中国的国粹。 Jīngjù shì Zhōngguó de guócuì.Beijing opera is the quintessence of Chinese culture.