短剑 (duǎn jiàn) — dagger; short sword | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

daggershort sword

Measure word · 把

短剑。
Tā suí shēn dài zhe yì bǎ duǎn jiàn.
He carries a dagger with him.
短剑。
Bó wù guǎn lǐ zhǎn shì le yì bǎ gǔ dài duǎn jiàn.
The museum displayed an ancient short sword.
短剑。
Zhè bǎ duǎn jiàn de dāo qiào hěn jīng měi.
The scabbard of this dagger is very exquisite.

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.

'短' means short and '剑' means sword, so the word denotes a short 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.

矢豆短

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

豆

豆dòu短duǎn

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

短 is built from 矢 and 豆. 豆 is used for its sound, while 矢 is the component linked to the meaning.

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.

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