刮刀 (guā dāo) — scraper (tool) | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

scraper (tool)

Measure word · 把

刮刀。
Tā yòng guā dāo bà qiáng shàng de jiù yóu qī guā diào le.
He used a scraper to scrape off the old paint on the wall.
刮刀。
Chú shī yòng guā dāo bà miàn tuán cóng àn bǎn shàng guā qǐ lái.
The chef used a scraper to scrape the dough off the counter.
刮刀。
Tā ná qǐ guā dāo qīng lǐ zhuō zi shàng de yán liào.
He picked up a scraper to clean the paint off the table.

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.

刀dāoknife/tool

刮 (scrape) + 刀 (knife/tool) gives a scraping tool.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

刀刀dāoknife

Sound part声符shēngfú

𠯑

𠯑𠯑刮guā

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

刮 combines 刀, a knife, with 𠯑, 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.