劇 means “drama, theater”

げき · geki

Also: play

On'yomi (Chinese reading)

ゲキ

Taught in grade 6 · 15 strokes

The story

A tiger (虎) and a knife (刂): drama cuts with the intensity of a predator's strike. Japanese theater traditions run deep: from the masked elegance of 能 (Noh) to the spectacular 歌舞伎 (Kabuki), 劇 encompasses all the passion of the stage.

Used in 劇場 (gekijou, theater), 歌劇 (kageki, opera), and 喜劇 (kigeki, comedy)

More from Music & Arts

• 画 painting
• 彫 carve
• 詩 poetry
• 拍 rhythm
• 弦 string (instrument)
• 笛 flute
• 鼓 drum
• 音 sound
• 曲 melody
• 唱 chant
• 演 perform
• 芸 art

Learn 劇 and more kanji free on Fuji Learning · All kanji

Readings from KANJIDIC2, © EDRDG, CC BY-SA.