砍刀 (kǎn dāo) — machete; chopping knife | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

machetechopping knife

Measure word · 把

Examples

砍刀。
Tā yòng kǎn dāo kǎn duàn le shù zhī.
He cut off the branch with a machete.
砍刀。
Zhè bǎ kǎn dāo fēi cháng fēng lì.
This chopping knife is very sharp.
砍刀。
Qǐng bǎ kǎn dāo fàng zài ān quán de dì fāng.
Please put the machete in a safe place.

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.

砍 means to chop and 刀 is a knife; together they name a knife used for chopping.

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.

石欠砍

Meaning part形符xíngfú

石石shírock

Sound part声符shēngfú

欠

欠qiàn砍kǎn

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

砍 combines 石 (rock) and 欠, which gives the sound.

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

Miscellaneous Objects

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