长剑 (cháng jiàn) — long sword | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

long sword

Measure word · 把

Easily confused

长剑。
Gǔ dài wǔ shì huī wǔ zhe cháng jiàn chōng xiàng dí rén.
The ancient warrior brandished his long sword and charged at the enemy.
长剑。
Tā zài xiǎo shuō lǐ miáo shù le nà bǎ cháng jiàn de lái lì.
In his novel, he described the origin of that long sword.
，长剑，。
Wǔ shù biǎo yǎn zhōng, tā shǒu chí cháng jiàn, dòng zuò liú chàng yǒu lì.
During the martial arts performance, he held a long sword, with smooth and powerful movements.

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.

长 (long) and 剑 (sword) together give a sword with a long blade.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 長; 长 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 長 pictures an old man with long hair. The simplified 长 is a later shorthand, so its strokes do not show that original picture.

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 劍; 剑 is its simplified writing.

僉刂劍

Meaning part形符xíngfú

刂Written in full as刀dāo

Sound part声符shēngfú

僉

僉qiān劍jiàn

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 劍 pairs 僉 as the sound part with 刂, a knife sign written as 刀, as the meaning part; the simplified 剑 is a later shorthand.