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尖 (jiān) — (adjective) sharp, pointed; shrill, tapering, piercing; acute, keen; (noun) tip, point; (noun) the best or most outstanding part; the cream of the crop

Definition

尖 covers two unrelated senses: a pointed tip (noun) and 'sharp/shrill' as an adjective for sound, sight, or hearing. 尖锐 is the stronger, more common written adjective for piercing criticism or sound; 尖端 is the noun for the pointed end itself.

adjective
sharppointedshrilltaperingpiercingacutekeen
noun
tippointthe best or most outstanding partthe cream of the crop
Easily confused

Examples

  • 尖，。
    Tā de shēng yīn tài jiān le, wǒ shòu bù liǎo.
    Her voice is too shrill; I can't stand it.
  • 尖。
    Zhè zhī qiān bǐ de jiān duàn le.
    The tip of this pencil broke.
  • 尖，。
    Tā de yǎn guāng hěn jiān, yí xià zi jiù kàn chū le zhēn jiǎ.
    His eyes are sharp; he saw through the truth and falsehood at once.

Origin

Compound ideograph
六书liùshū
会意huìyì

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

尖 puts 小 (small) above 大 (large), showing the width of an object gradually changing from small to large.

Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 6Shapes5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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