剑

劍/劒

jiàn

佥 + 刂

HSK 2.0Level 6

HSK 3.0Level 6

Definitions

jiàn (noun) sword; blade

Etymology

Phonosemantic compound. 刂 represents the meaning and 佥 represents the sound. Simplified form of 劍.

Semantic: 刂 Phonetic: 佥

About

剑 (traditional 劍) is a phono-semantic compound: the right side 刂 (刀 'knife') indicates a bladed weapon, while the left side 佥 (simplified from 僉, meaning 'all, together') gives the sound. The character denotes a double-edged straight sword used for thrusting and cutting in close combat, distinguishing it from single-edged curved sabers. This specific meaning remains, and 剑 also appears in compound words related to fencing and swordsmanship.

Etymology Hide

Bronze Late Western Zhou (~800 BC)

Seal Late Spring and Autumn (~500 BC)

Bronze Early Warring States (~400 BC)

Bronze Late Warring States (~250 BC)

Seal Chu (Warring States: 475-221 BC)

Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)

Clerical Qin dynasty (221-206 BC)

Traditional Modern

Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

这是一把宝剑。

Zhè shì yī bǎ bǎojiàn.

This is a treasure sword.

他练习剑术。

Tā liànxí jiànshù.

He practices swordsmanship.

剑客挥舞着剑。

Jiànkè huīwǔ zhe jiàn.

The swordsman is waving the sword.

这把剑非常锋利。

Zhè bǎ jiàn fēicháng fēnglì.

This sword is very sharp.

他用自己的剑战斗。

Tā yòng zìjǐ de jiàn zhàndòu.

He fights with his own sword.

剑柄上刻着花纹。

Jiànbǐng shàng kè zhe huāwén.

There are patterns carved on the sword hilt.

在博物馆里看到古剑。

Zài bówùguǎn lǐ kàndào gǔ jiàn.

I saw an ancient sword in the museum.

剑术大师教授学生技巧。

Jiànshù dàshī jiàoshòu xuéshēng jìqiǎo.

The swordsmanship master teaches students techniques.

Related Characters

Component: 佥

Component: 刂

剑