电视剧

diàn shì jù

tv series; television drama

HSK Level 3

Example Sentences

我喜欢看电视剧。

wǒ xǐhuān kàn diànshìjù.

I like watching TV series.

这部电视剧很受欢迎。

zhè bù diànshìjù hěn shòu huānyíng.

This TV series is very popular.

我正在追一部电视剧。

wǒ zhèngzài zhuī yī bù diànshìjù.

I am currently following a TV series.

Synonyms

连续剧 (liánxùjù)

TV series

电视剧集 (diànshìjùjí)

TV series

Antonyms

电影 (diànyǐng)

movie

纪录片 (jìlùpiàn)

documentary

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Etymology & Components

The Chinese word 电视剧 (diànshìjù) is a compound of two characters: 电视 (diànshì), meaning "television", and 剧 (jù), meaning "drama" or "play". The term 电视剧 is used to refer to television dramas, which are typically serialized and consist of multiple episodes.The character 电视 is a combination of the characters 电 (diàn), meaning "electricity", and 视 (shì), meaning "to see". This character was coined in the early 20th century to refer to the new technology of television, which was then in its infancy.The character 剧 has a long history in Chinese, dating back to the Warring States period (475-221 BC). It was originally used to refer to theatrical performances, but over time it came to be used more broadly to refer to any type of drama or play.The combination of the characters 电视 and 剧 to form the term 电视剧 is a natural one, as it reflects the fact that television dramas are a type of drama that is presented on television. The term 电视剧 is now widely used in Chinese to refer to this type of programming.