磨刀 (mò dāo) — to sharpen a knife

Definition

A separable verb meaning 'to sharpen a knife' by grinding it against a stone or steel. The object 刀 can split from 磨 for aspect, measure words, or 把-construction (把刀磨快).

verb
to sharpen a knife

Examples

  • 磨刀。
    Bà ba zhèng zài chú fáng lǐ mò dāo.
    Dad is sharpening a knife in the kitchen.
  • ，。
    Tā mó le sān cì dāo, zhōng yú bǎ dāo mó kuài le.
    He sharpened the knife three times and finally got it sharp.
  • ，磨刀。
    Zhè bǎ dāo tài dùn le, xū yào hǎo hǎo mò dāo.
    This knife is too dull; it needs a good sharpening.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

磨mógrind
刀dāoknife

'磨' is grinding and '刀' names the knife being sharpened.

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
石石shírock
Sound part声符shēngfú
靡
靡mí磨mó
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

磨 combines 石, showing rock, with 靡 for the sound.

Open 磨 →

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.

Open 刀 →

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