伎

Primarily denotes skill related to performance and entertainment (music, dance, theatricality). It refers to either the art of performance/display or the practitioner, frequently a female musician or dancer.

Primary function is as a noun, referring to either the abstract skill or the concrete person practicing it. It occasionally functions as a modifier meaning "skilled," "artful," or "practiced." It rarely functions as a verb; where it appears in a verbal position, it typically implies "to perform."

While often interchangeable in early scripts, a distinction is generally maintained between 伎 and 技: 技 refers to technical skill, craftsmanship, or the mastery of tools/mechanics, whereas 伎 refers to performative art and aesthetic display.

When appearing alongside terms for music (樂) or dance (舞), or within court and banquet settings, the sense of performance or practitioner is highly probable. If a "performance" reading is incoherent in context—particularly in settings involving governance or tools—consider if the glyph should be read as 技 (technical skill).