宝剑 (bǎo jiàn) — double-edged sword; treasured sword

Definition

noun

double-edged swordtreasured sword

Measure word · 把

宝剑。
Zhè bǎ bǎo jiàn shì gǔ dài míng jiàng zhù zào de.
This treasured sword was forged by a famous ancient craftsman.
宝剑，。
Tā shōu cáng le xǔ duō bǎo jiàn, měi yì bǎ dōu jià zhí lián chéng.
He has collected many double-edged swords, each one priceless.
宝剑。
Wǔ xiá xiǎo shuō lǐ de bǎo jiàn wǎng wǎng yǒu shén qí de lì liàng.
The treasured swords in martial arts novels often have magical powers.

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.

宝bǎoprecious

The precious 宝 quality of a 剑 sword gives a treasured sword.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 寶; 宝 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 寶 shows 宀 (house), 琡 (jade), and 貝 (cowry), drawn together as treasures in a house.

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 劍; 剑 is its simplified writing.

僉刂劍

Meaning part形符xíngfú

刂Written in full as刀dāo

Sound part声符shēngfú

僉

僉qiān劍jiàn

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 劍 pairs 僉 as the sound part with 刂, a knife sign written as 刀, as the meaning part; the simplified 剑 is a later shorthand.

Appears in