剃

薙/鬀

tì

刂 + 弟

HSK 3.0Level 7

Definitions

tì (verb) to shave

Etymology

Phonosemantic compound. 刂 represents the meaning and 弟 represents the sound. Simplified form of 薙.

Semantic: 刂 Phonetic: 弟

About

The character 剃 (tì) is a phono-semantic compound denoting the act of shaving hair. Its structure pairs the phonetic component 弟 (dì) on the left, which guides pronunciation, with the semantic knife radical 刂 (dāo) on the right, indicating a cutting action. This combination specifically frames the meaning as hair removal through shearing. The term is literal and specialized, commonly appearing in contexts like barbers (剃头), shaving tools (剃刀), or religious tonsure (剃度), without broader metaphorical use.

Etymology Hide

Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)

Traditional Modern

Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

弟弟剃头了。

Dìdi tì tóu le.

Younger brother shaved his head.

他剃光了头发。

Tā tì guāng le tóufa.

He shaved his hair bald.

理发师给他剃头。

Lǐfàshī gěi tā tì tóu.

The barber shaves his head for him.

早上起床后，我剃胡子。

Zǎoshang qǐchuáng hòu, wǒ tì húzi.

After getting up in the morning, I shave my beard.

他用电动剃须刀剃须。

Tā yòng diàndòng tìxūdāo tì xū.

He uses an electric razor to shave.

剃头之前，要先洗头发。

Tì tóu zhīqián, yào xiān xǐ tóufa.

Before shaving the head, one should wash the hair first.

如果头发太长，就得剃掉一些。

Rúguǒ tóufa tài cháng, jiù děi tì diào yìxiē.

If the hair is too long, you have to shave off some.

他决定剃光头发，以表示重新开始。

Tā juédìng tì guāng tóufa, yǐ biǎoshì chóngxīn kāishǐ.

He decided to shave his head bald to signify a fresh start.

Related Characters

Component: 刂

Component: 弟

剃