kyogen

K5Y4O1G2E1N1

noun

A form of traditional Japanese theatre, once performed alongside noh as a comic intermission.

OriginJapanese 狂言 →
Scrabble 14
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Meanings

nounkyogen (countable and uncountable, plural kyogen or kyogens)

plural kyogens · alternative kyōgen

  1. uncountableA form of traditional Japanese theatre, once performed alongside noh as a comic intermission.
  2. countableA work in this genre.

    Many kyogen include komai, small comic dances and songs which enhance the sense of fun or absurdity of a play.

    2016, Colleen Lanki, “Japan”, in Siyuan Liu, editor, Routledge Handbook of Asian Theatre (Routledge Handbooks), Abingdon, Oxfordshire; New York, N.Y.: Routledge, →ISBN, part II (Dimensions of traditional Asian theatre), chapter 5 (Dance in traditional Asian theatre)

Origin

  1. Japanese狂言
  2. Englishkyogen

Borrowed from Japanese 狂言 (kyōgen), from Middle Chinese 狂言 (MC gjwang ngjon, “crazed ramblings”)), from 狂 (MC gjwang, “crazy, mad”) + 言 (MC ngjon, “speech”).

More words from Japanese

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

kyogen. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/kyogen

MLA

“kyogen.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/kyogen. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “kyogen,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/kyogen.

Source: kyogen on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.