剧 (jù) - Meaning, Stroke Order & Audio

剧

jù[ju4]Tone 4

theatrical work, drama, acute, severe

HSK 3

View Traditional FormSwitch to Traditional

劇

Guru Deep Dive

English · theatrical work, drama, acute, severe

Cached lesson

1 / 1

Topology:Left-right

Strokes:15

Writing Balance Rule: The left component (虍) acts as a shelter/roof framing the upper portion, while the right component (豦) balances it by stacking its horizontal and vertical strokes compactly underneath.

Simplification Logic: Simplified from 劇 to 剧 by replacing the complex phonetic/semantic right side component 豦 with 𩫖/𠂆-derived simplifications or simplifying the inner tiger elements.

1. Meaning

theatrical work (play, opera, TV series etc)

dramatic (change, increase etc)acutesevere

noun / adjectiveNeutralBound morpheme#entertainment#art#intensity

Sample Usage

这部电视剧非常好看。
Zhè bù diànshìjù fēicháng hǎokàn.
This TV series is very good to watch.
天气发生了剧烈的变化。
Tiānqì fāshēng le jùliè de biànhuà.
The weather underwent a drastic change.

2. Sound

/[t͡ɕy˥˩]/Tone: 51

剧

jùju4

`(51)

=jù

Initial Consonant

Type: Unaspirated Alveolo-Palatal

Sounds like: soft j / dy sound produced near the hard palate

Unaspirated

Airflow Tactile Test: No air puff. Lips spread wide like smiling.

Tongue & Mouth Position: Front of tongue pressed against or close to the hard palate, blade flat.

Final Rhyme

Vowel Group: -v vowel group

Sounds like: French 'u' or German 'ü' sound

Note: Written as 'u', pronounced as rounded 'ü' [y].

Mouth Shape Guide: Pronounce as standalone vowel 'ü'.

Common Learner Trap: Keep vowel quality steady across all 4 tone contours.

Tone

T4 (51)

5 → 1 (51)

4th Tone (High-Falling)

Tone Pitch & Cadence: Tone 4 starts high and plunges sharply to the bottom, identical to shouting a sudden command like 'Stop!' in English.

👂

Listening trap: Do not confuse with 'zhù' (zh- initial, retroflex) or 'qù' (which is aspirated). 'jù' is unaspirated and uses a palatal groove.

👋

Physical Tone Gesture: A sharp, authoritative downward chop in the air, matching a sudden drop from high pitch to low.

3. Writing

Topology: Left-right · Strokes: 15 strokes

4. Components

Radical 虍 · Tiger stripe radical (tiger skin, stripes, fierce animals)

Semantic Clue (形旁): 虍 (indicates fierceness, wildness, or dramatic intensity)

Phonetic Clue (声旁): 豦 (original sound: jù)

A fierce tiger (虍) acting out a dramatic scene or wild performance (豦).

虍 Tiger enclosure / fierce radical
豦 Phonetic and structural component meaning wild or contentious

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

9· Phonetic Root: 居 (jū)

5. History

Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)

Origin: Originally formed from 虍 (tiger) and 豦 (two boars contesting or arguing), representing fierce contention, wild beasts, or roaring performances, which later extended to theatrical plays and dramatic intensity.

Semantic Evolution: From fierce contention and wild animal behavior to dramatic theatrical performances, and further extended to describe severe or acute conditions.

Ancient theatrical performances often featured roaring masked dances mimicking fierce beasts and legendary heroes.

6. Sinosphere

🇻🇳

Sino-Vietnamese

kịch

Mandarin Tone 4 (falling) corresponds roughly to Vietnamese nặng or sắc depending on historical tone categories, here rendered as kịch.

🇯🇵

Kanji (Japanese)

On: ゲキ

🇰🇷

Hanja (Korean)

극

Sound Shift Bridge: Shared East Asian cultural root character used in compound words relating to drama and intensity.

7. Memory

Vivid Mnemonic Story

Picture a ferocious TIGER (虍) wearing a theatrical costume, acting out an extremely DRAMATIC (剧) play on stage with fierce energy.

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

据

jùaccording to, seizeReplaces the right side with 手 (hand) to mean 'to grasp or according to'.

锯

jùsaw (tool)Replaces the left side with 金 (metal) to mean 'a metal saw'.

距

jùdistance, apartReplaces the left side with 足 (foot) to mean 'stepping distance'.

Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)

据(jù)

据 has a Hand radical (扌) on the left (to grasp/according to), whereas 剧 has the Tiger radical (虍) on the left (drama/fierce).

8. Mastery

Active Recall Challenge

这部[___]真的非常精彩。

Clue: jù

Common Learner Pitfall

Confusing the character with its homophones like 据 (jù) or 句 (jù) due to different radicals, or mispronouncing the final ü as u.

Memory Prompts

Recognition: What does 剧 mean when seen in 电视剧 (diànshìjù) and what is its Pinyin?

Production: How do you write the character for 'dramatic / theatrical work' (jù) with 15 strokes?

剧jùtheatrical work, drama, acute, severe

Speed:

Searching YouTube for native pronunciation videos...

0 / 0