钢刀 (gāng dāo) — steel knife | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

steel knife

Measure word · 把

钢刀，。
Zhè bǎ gāng dāo fēi cháng fēng lì, qiē ròu hěn kuài.
This steel knife is very sharp and cuts meat quickly.
钢刀。
Tā yòng gāng dāo xiāo le yì gēn mù gùn.
He used a steel knife to whittle a wooden stick.
钢刀。
Gǔ dài zhàn shì de gāng dāo jīng guò jīng xīn duàn zào.
Ancient warriors' steel knives were carefully forged.

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.

钢 describes the material from which the 刀 is made.

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 鋼; 钢 is its simplified writing.

金岡鋼

Meaning part形符xíngfú

金金jīnmetal

Sound part声符shēngfú

岡

岡gāng鋼gàng

Same sound today

The traditional form 鋼 shows 金, meaning metal, next to 岡, which carries the sound gāng; the simplified 钢 is a later shorthand.

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.