小刀 (xiǎo dāo) — pocket knife; small knife | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

pocket knifesmall knife

Measure word · 把

Examples

小刀。
Tā yòng xiǎo dāo xiāo qiān bǐ.
He used a small knife to sharpen the pencil.
小刀，。
Zhè bǎ xiǎo dāo hěn fēng lì, qiè shuǐ guǒ hěn fāng biàn.
This small knife is very sharp, making it convenient to cut fruit.
，小刀。
Chū mén lǚ yóu shí, wǒ zǒng zài bāo lǐ fàng yì bǎ xiǎo dāo.
When traveling, I always put a small knife in my bag.

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.

小 means small and 刀 means knife; together they refer to a small knife.

Characters in this word

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

八八bāto divide; to separate
丨丨gǔnsmall object

The shape of 小 comes from three small dots, later elongated into its strokes; the apparent parts 八 and 丨 are a later way of seeing it.

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.

Appears in

Kitchenware & Tableware

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