(yǎn) - to act, to play (a part), to perform in Mandarin
yǎnTraditional: 演
Translation
to act, to play (a part), to perform
Word origin
A phono-semantic compound of 氵(water) and 寅 (yín, phonetic). The early sense was water running on at length, extended first to expounding at length and then to performing.
- Origin
- Chinese
- Root
- 氵(water) + 寅 (yín, phonetic)
Stroke order
演
Examples
。
He plays a policeman in this film.
。
She acted extremely well.
。
This part is not easy to play.
？
Who is playing the male lead tonight?
。
We are putting on a new story next month.
演 (yǎn) is the verb for playing a part. It takes the role as its object (演一个警察, 演男主角) and it also stands alone for the act of performing, as in 她演得很好.
It is the building block of a family you will meet constantly: 演员 (yǎn yuán, actor), 表演 (biǎo yǎn, to perform), 导演 (dǎo yǎn, director), 演出 (yǎn chū, a show). Learn the single character and four common words come nearly free.
The trap is that 演 means to portray, not to pretend in general. For pretending in daily life, faking an illness or putting on an act, Mandarin uses 装 (zhuāng). And 演 is about theatre and screen, so a musician performing a piece takes 演奏 (yǎn zòu) rather than 演 on its own.
Where this fits
Used in
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演: worksheet, infographic and listicle
Free printable study downloads for the Mandarin word "演" (to act, to play (a part), to perform): a worksheet with the answer key built in, an infographic, and a sentence listicle. Open any one to view, print or save.
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Start your free weekThis word is part of lesson 49.