knife

Origin & mnemonic

This radical originates from a pictographic depiction of a knife blade in oracle-bone script. It represents the shape of a cutting blade or sword.

Mnemonic: The vertical stroke with a slight curve at the top resembles a sharp blade poised to cut.

• 分fēn🔊

  to divide; to separate

  HSK 1

  4 strokes

• 切qiè🔊

  definitely; absolutely (not)

  HSK 4

  4 strokes

• 刈yì🔊

  mow

  4 strokes

• 刊kān🔊

  old variant of 刊[kan1]

  5 strokes

• 刌cǔn🔊

  (literary) to cut off; to sever

  5 strokes

• 刚gāng🔊

  hard

  HSK 2

  6 strokes

• 则zé🔊

  (literary) (conjunction used to express contrast with a previous clause) but; then

  HSK 7

  6 strokes

• 刘liú🔊

  (classical) a type of battle-ax

  6 strokes

• 列liè🔊

  to arrange

  HSK 4

  6 strokes

• 划huà🔊

  to delimit

  HSK 4

  6 strokes

• 创chuàng🔊

  variant of 創|创[chuang4]

  HSK 7

  6 strokes

• 刑xíng🔊

  punishment

  6 strokes

• 刎wěn🔊

  cut across (throat)

  6 strokes

• 刓wán🔊

  to trim

  6 strokes

• 刖yuè🔊

  to amputate one or both feet (punishment in imperial China) (one of the five mutilating punishments 五刑[wu3 xing2])

  6 strokes