The word 尖刀 is formed by combining the character 尖, meaning "sharp" or "pointed", with 刀, meaning "knife". The character 尖 is itself an ideographic composition of 小 (small) above 大 (big), visually conveying a tapered, pointed shape. In the compound, 尖 functions as an adjective modifying 刀, resulting in a literal meaning of "sharp knife".