The word 舞台剧 is formed by combining three characters: 舞, meaning "to dance" or "perform"; 台, meaning "stage" or "platform"; and 剧, meaning "drama" or "play". The characters 舞 and 台 first combine to form 舞台, meaning "stage", which then modifies 剧 to specify the type of drama, resulting in the literal meaning "stage drama" or "theatrical play".