短刀 (duǎn dāo) — short knife; short sword

Definition

noun

short knifeshort sword

Measure word · 把

短刀。
Zhè bǎ duǎn dāo fēi cháng fēng lì.
This short knife is very sharp.
短刀。
Gǔ dài shì bīng cháng suí shēn xié dài yì bǎ duǎn dāo.
Ancient soldiers often carried a short sword with them.
短刀。
Tā yòng duǎn dāo xiāo le yì gēn mù gùn.
He used the short knife to whittle a wooden stick.

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.

短 gives the idea of short and 刀 gives knife, giving the sense of a short knife or sword.

Characters in this word

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

矢豆短

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

豆

豆dòu短duǎn

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

短 is built from 矢 and 豆. 豆 is used for its sound, while 矢 is the component linked to the meaning.

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.