折刀 (zhé dāo) — folding knife; pocket knife; clasp knife

Definition

noun
folding knifepocket knifeclasp knife
Measure word · 把

Examples

  • 折刀。
    Tā suí shēn dài zhe yì bǎ zhé dāo.
    He carries a folding knife with him.
  • 折刀。
    Zhè bǎ zhé dāo kě yǐ fàng zài kǒu dài lǐ.
    This folding knife can be put in a pocket.
  • 折刀。
    Dēng shān shí zuì hǎo dài yì bǎ zhé dāo.
    It's best to bring a folding knife when mountain climbing.

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.

折zhéfold
刀dāoknife

折 describes folding, and 刀 is the knife.

Characters in this word

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

  • 屮𣏄𣏄a tree {{zh-m|*木}} cut in half
  • 斤斤jīnaxe

The shape originally showed an axe (斤) cutting a tree in half; in 折 the left part is now written as a hand.

Open 折 →

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 →

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