表演

Mandarin · pinyin biǎo yǎn

Meanings

  1. play
  2. show
  3. performance
  4. exhibition
  5. to perform
  6. to act
  7. to demonstrate
  8. Classifier: 場 chǎng
Full entryShow on map

Characters in this entry

表
biǎo · show, express, manifest, display
演
yǎn · perform, put on; exercise
Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

Explore the spelling

Mandarin tones

3–3 · biao3 yan3

Compare attested words with these syllables ↗

Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.

Connected dictionary

2character links2source references
Explore word families ↗Compare pronunciations ↗Open character structure ↗
Counts describe dictionary records, not word frequency or semantic similarity. Source identities stay separate.

Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

表演 · find source passages ↗

Explore Classical grammar ↗

Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 4 senses · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

biu2 jin2

Cantonese word readings for 表演. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

CanCLID contributors · CC BY 4.0 · source & license · Data pack

Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

verb

  1. to perform; to act; to play
  2. to demonstrate
  3. to put on an act; to pose

noun

  1. performance; exhibition

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source & license · Data pack