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锋利 (fēng lì) — sharp (of a blade, knife edge); incisive, penetrating (of remarks or thinking)

Definition

锋利 literally describes a physical blade cutting well. For remarks or thinking, 犀利 is more natural than 锋利, which sounds slightly forced in that sense.

adjective
sharp (of a blade, knife edge)incisivepenetrating (of remarks or thinking)
Easily confused

Examples

  • 锋利。
    Zhè bǎ dāo de dāo rèn fēi cháng fēng lì.
    The blade of this knife is very sharp.
  • 锋利，。
    Tā de pī píng fēi cháng fēng lì, yì zhēn jiàn xiě.
    His criticism was very incisive, hitting the nail on the head.
  • 锋利。
    fēng lì De dòng chá lì ràng tā zǒng néng kàn tòu běn zhì.
    His sharp insight always lets him see through to the essence.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

锋fēngsharp edge
利lìsharp

锋 'sharp edge' and 利 'sharp' combine to mean sharp.

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 鋒; 锋 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
金金jīn
Sound part声符shēngfú
夆
夆páng鋒fēng
Same sound today

The traditional form 鋒 pairs 金 (metal) with a sound part 夆; the simplified 锋 is a shorthand.

Open 锋 →

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

利 combines 禾 (grain) and 刀 (knife), showing a knife used to cut grain.

Open 利 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9HSK 2.0 Level 6Texture & Quality

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