悲剧

• Pinyin: bēi jù
• Hanzi breakdown: 悲 = 非 (not) + 心 (heart), meaning sadness; 剧 = 豦 (phonetic) + 刂 (knife)

Meaning

Tragedy; tragic drama. A dramatic work with an unhappy ending, or any unfortunate event or situation.

Used both for the theatrical genre (opposite of 喜剧 comedy) and colloquially for any unfortunate situation. In internet slang, 悲剧 is often used humorously to describe minor misfortunes.

Examples

1. 莎士比亚写过很多著名的悲剧，比如哈姆雷特和李尔王。 Shakespeare wrote many famous tragedies, such as Hamlet and King Lear.
2. 这场车祸是一个悲剧，夺走了三个年轻人的生命。 This car accident was a tragedy that took the lives of three young people.
3. 他把手机掉进马桶里了，真是个悲剧。 He dropped his phone in the toilet — what a disaster.

Usage Guide

Context: literature, news, colloquial

Tone: varies

Do Say

• 这是一部感人的悲剧。(This is a touching tragedy.)
• 太悲剧了！(How tragic!/What a disaster!)

Don't Say

• 在严肃场合用'悲剧'来开玩笑——真正的悲剧事件不应该轻描淡写 (Don't use 悲剧 jokingly in serious contexts — real tragedies shouldn't be trivialized)

Origin & History

Compound of 悲 (sad) + 剧 (drama), calqued from Western theatrical terminology.

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal