刀
knife; blade; single-edged sword; cutlass (CL:把[ba3]); (slang) (loanword) dollar; classifier for sets of one hundred sheets (of paper); classifier for knife cuts or stabs; (Internet slang) to bargain; to ask for a small discount (esp. on second-hand marketplaces); (Internet slang) to knife (sb) (often used hyperbolically, as in 想刀他[xiang3 dao1 ta1] "I could kill him!")
2 strokes
Dict coverage rank #406 U+5200
How 刀 is formed
components: 丿
? unknown part
How to remember it
sword · Heisig RSH #83
— as a component also called: dagger, saber
Keyword method from Heisig's Remembering Simplified Hanzi.
Characters built with 刀 as their sound component
These characters all use 刀 (dāo) as their phonetic component — compare how they read:
| Character | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 刀 sound component | dāo | knife; old coin; measure |
| 召 | zhào | imperial decree; to summon, to call, to beckon |
| 叨 | dāo | talkative; grumbling |
| 忉 | dāo | grieving; distressed |
Words containing 刀
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 天上下刀子 | tiān shàng xià dāo zi | lit. knives rain down from the sky (idiom); fig. (even if) the sky crumbles |
| 上刀山，下火海 | shàng dāo shān , xià huǒ hǎi | lit. to climb mountains of swords and enter seas of flames (idiom); fig. to go through tri… |
| 刀山火海 | dāo shān huǒ hǎi | lit. mountains of daggers and seas of flames; fig. extreme danger (idiom) |
| 火海刀山 | huǒ hǎi dāo shān | see 刀山火海[dao1 shan1 huo3 hai3] |
| 大刀会 | dà dāo huì | Great Sword Society, an offshoot of the White Lotus in the late Qing dynasty, involved in … |
| 小刀会 | Xiǎo dāo huì | Dagger Society, anti-Qing secret society who mounted an unsuccessful rebellion in 1855 |
| 开山刀 | kāi shān dāo | machete |
| 日本刀 | Rì běn dāo | Japanese sword; katana |
| 刀子 | dāo zi | knife; CL:把[ba3] |
| 大刀 | dà dāo | broadsword; large knife; machete |
| 美工刀 | měi gōng dāo | utility knife; box cutter |
| 马刀 | mǎ dāo | saber; cavalry sword |
| 小刀 | xiǎo dāo | knife; CL:把[ba3] |
| 手刀 | shǒu dāo | hand formed into a flat shape, as for a karate chop |
| 色字头上一把刀 | sè zì tóu shàng yī bǎ dāo | lit. there is a knife above the character for lust; fig. lascivious activities can lead to… |
| 宝刀不老 | bǎo dāo bù lǎo | lit. a good sword always remains sharp (idiom); fig. (of one's skills etc) to be as good a… |
| 利刀 | lì dāo | sharp knife; knife (weapon) |
| 刀口 | dāo kǒu | the edge of a knife; cut; incision |
| 两面三刀 | liǎng miàn sān dāo | two-faced, three knives (idiom); double-cross; double dealing and back stabbing |
| 主刀 | zhǔ dāo | to act as the chief surgeon; chief surgeon |