剪发 (jiǎn fā) — to cut hair; to have a haircut

Definition

A colloquial verb phrase meaning 'to get a haircut'. Note the separable structure: 剪发 splits as 剪…发 (e.g. 剪过一次发, 剪了发吗), unlike the set phrase 理发.

verb

to cut hairto have a haircut

剪发。
Wǒ měi gè yuè qù lǐ fà diàn jiǎn fā yí cì.
I go to the barber for a haircut every month.
？
Nǐ zuó tiān jiǎn le fā ma?
Did you get a haircut yesterday?
。
Wǒ zài zhè lǐ jiǎn guò yí cì fā.
I've had a haircut here once.

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

It combines 剪 meaning cut and 发 meaning hair, describing the action of cutting hair.

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

歬

歬qián剪jiǎn

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

In 剪, 刀 is the knife part and 歬 gives the sound. After 前 came to replace 歬, another 刀 was added to 剪.

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 發; 发 is its simplified writing.

The simplified 发 stands for more than one traditional character. In most words (爆发, 出发) it is 發; in others (理发, 头发) it is 髮.

The form 發, which 发 stands for in many words, was originally drawn as a bow firing an arrow.

Appears in