刀痕 (dāo hén) — mark or scar left by a knife-cut

Definition

noun
mark or scar left by a knife-cut
Measure word · 道

Examples

  • 刀痕。
    Zhuō zi shàng yǒu yí dào dāo hén.
    There is a knife mark on the table.
  • 刀痕。
    Tā de shǒu shàng liú xià le dāo hén.
    A knife scar was left on his hand.
  • 刀痕。
    Zhè bǎ dāo zài mù bǎn shàng kè chū le shēn shēn de dāo hén.
    This knife carved deep knife marks on the wooden board.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

刀dāoknife
痕hénmark

A 痕 left by a 刀, the scar made by a knife.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The shape of 刀 comes from a simple picture of a knife.

Open 刀 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
疒疒nè
Sound part声符shēngfú
艮
艮gèn痕hén
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

痕 pairs 疒 with 艮: 疒 gives the sense, and 艮 gives the sound.

Open 痕 →

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