尖 (jiān) — (adjective) sharp, pointed; shrill, tapering; shrill, 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
sharppointedshrilltaperingshrillpiercingacutekeen
noun
tippointthe best or most outstanding partthe cream of the crop
Easily confused
- 美měilook-alikebeautiful; pretty
- 间jiānsound-alike(classifier) for rooms, offices, and other enclosed spaces
- 天tiānlook-alike(noun) sky
- 煎jiānsound-aliketo pan-fry; to sauté
- 太tàilook-aliketoo, excessively (often with 了)
- 兼jiānsound-aliketo hold two or more positions or roles at the same time; to concurrently hold
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.
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