剑客 (jiàn kè) — swordsman, fencing master

Definition

noun

swordsmanfencing master

Measure word · 个

剑客。
Zhè wèi jiàn kè de jiàn fǎ fēi cháng gāo chāo.
This swordsman's swordsmanship is extremely superb.
剑客。
Tā zài diàn yǐng lǐ bàn yǎn le yí wèi xiá yì jiàn kè.
He played a chivalrous swordsman in the movie.
剑客。
Gǔ dài jiàn kè wǎng wǎng suí shēn xié dài cháng jiàn.
Ancient swordsmen often carried a long sword with them.

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.

剑 is the sword and 客 denotes a person, so the word means a person skilled with the 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.

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.

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

宀各客

Meaning part形符xíngfú

宀宀miánroof

Sound part声符shēngfú

各

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

In 客, 宀 is a roof and 各 gives the sound; the character meant a guest.

Appears in