About
The character for “spear” or “gun,” now written as 枪 in its simplified form, originated from the traditional form 槍, which clearly incorporates the wooden component 木 (mù) and the component 倉 (cāng) serving primarily as a phonetic indicator. This structure points directly to its original meaning as a long, wooden-shafted spear or lance. Over centuries, as projectile weapons like bows and later firearms were developed and became predominant, the meaning of the character expanded and shifted accordingly, no longer confined to a purely thrusting weapon but encompassing any handheld device that projects a missile, from ancient projectile forks to modern rifles. This semantic broadening is further reflected in the simplified form, where the wooden radical 木 was replaced with the hand radical 扌 (shǒu), thus emphasizing the instrument's operational method rather than its historical construction material.
Etymology Hide
Example Sentences Hide
他有一把手枪。
警察带着枪。
枪声突然响了。
士兵们装备了步枪。
开枪前必须瞄准目标。
这把枪的射程很远。
非法持枪是严重的罪行。
为了防止意外走火，枪口必须始终指向安全方向。