斩 (zhǎn) — to behead (as capital punishment); to chop (off)
Definition
斩 (zhǎn) means to chop or behead with a single decisive blow of a blade — more violent and final than 砍 (chop down/cut) and formal/historical in tone. 剪 is for scissors, not blades.
verb
to behead (as capital punishment)to chop (off)
Examples
- 。Gǔ dài zhǎn shǒu shì yì zhǒng cháng jiàn de xíng fá.In ancient times, beheading was a common punishment.
- 。Tā ná qǐ dāo zhǎn duàn le shéng zi.He picked up a knife and chopped the rope.
- 。Chú shī yòng cài dāo zhǎn duàn le gǔ tou.The chef used a cleaver to chop through the bone.
Origin
Compound ideograph六书liùshū
会意huìyìTwo or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.
This origin belongs to the traditional form 斬; 斩 is its simplified writing.
- 斤斤jīnaxe
- 車車jūcart; vehicle
The traditional form 斬 combines 斤 (axe) and 車 (cart) to show an old punishment where carts tore apart a body, giving the sense 'to cut'; the simplified 斩 is only a shorthand.
Appears in
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