The Chinese Radical: 刂


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Meaning
cut    刂

Explanation It is typically at the right side of the character.

Used in these characters:
JLPT HSK 1
front, ahead, before, first, former
qián
Top: a part 䒑 of the head/horns of a sheep , bottom: meat /, knife, cut
The horns and the flesh are cut (beginning) at the front position.
JLPT HSK 1
master, teacher, expert
shī
Left: knife, right: one (here: stick) and cloth
He comes with a knife, a stick and good cloth: The master!
JLPT HSK 2
to arrive, to (a place), until (a time), up to
dào
Left: get to/reach (From the sky an arrow comes to the earth : reaching it.), right: knife (phonetically knife dāo)
Arriving with a pronunciation similar to "knive" means: to arrive.
JLPT HSK 2
to separate, to distinguish, to leave, to classify, do to not
bié, biè
Left: another (If it doesn't work with words , you have to try it with force : That's sth. different.), right: knife
If you make another thing by cutting, this is 'separating'.
JLPT HSK 2
squad, team, class, work shift, group
bān
Left and right: king , center: knife
If there are the 'knifes' between the kings, it is their squads.
JLPT HSK 3
to carve, quarter (hour), to cut

Left: (zodiac) pig /豚 (head , fat body small tail ), right: knife
(piece-rate work at the slaughterhouse) The pig is cut with a knife (= carved) within a quarter hour.
JLPT HSK 3
hard, firm, enduring, just, barely
gāng
Left: hill (image of a hill), right: cutting/knife
(Is probably a gristle/cartilage in the meat?) A "hill" (= a thickening) is for cutting with a knife: particularly hard.
JLPT HSK 3
brush, to paint, to brush
shuā, shuà
Left: bottocks in side view with cloth is here understood as tail [to be correct: 尾 means tail], right: knife
At the bottocks the 'cloth' [="tail"] is cut and used as: a brush.
JLPT HSK 3
to blow (of the wind), to scrape, to shave
guā
Left: tongue , right: knife
You do it with the tongue: blowing, or with the knife: scraping.
JLPT HSK 4
row, to arrange, to line up, series
liè
Left: evil, bad (image of a bare bone, vertebra), right: knife
(i.e. backbone) The bones are lain bare by knife: arranged in a row.
JLPT HSK 4
favorable, profit, interest, to benefit, sharp (knife)

Left: rice plant , right: knife
(Harvesting rice plants with a knife is favorable and brings profit.
JLPT HSK 4
to scratch a surface, to row/paddle, to plan
huá, huà
Left: halberd , right: knife, to cut
A halberd is for cutting, but also for scratching, paddling or planning.
JLPT HSK 4
drama, play, show, severe

Left: reside/live (Where the buttock [side view] becomes old , he has his residence), right: knife, to cut
It plays at his residence with a knife: this drama.
JLPT HSK 4
rule, standard, norm, principle

Left: money /貝 (cone-shell with two feelers as shell-money), right: knife, to cut (here: to divide)
Money [= the capital] and knives [= violence] determine the rules and standards. Or: The money is divided according to rules.
JLPT HSK 4
to fall, to collapse, to go bankrupt
dǎo, dào
From left: person , get to/reach 到 ( arrow falling back to earth ), knife
The person reaches the knife and falls into it.
JLPT HSK 4
to remain, to be left, to have as remainder
shèng
Left: to use, take advantage of 乘 (When the two people , lean against the shade-giving tree , they: are using it.), right: to cut/knife
When using a knife, there are always remainders.
JLPT HSK 4
handsome, graceful, commander in chief
shuài
Left: knife/cut, right: cloth/fabric
If you use the knife for cutting the cloth, you will be handsome.
JLPT HSK 4
to judge, to sentence, to discriminate, to discern, decide
pàn
Left: half (A knife cuts a birthday cake with candles in half.), right: knife
If sth. is cut to half with a knife, you shall judge is somebody is discriminated.
JLPT HSK 4
strong, solid, firm, unyielding, resolute
jiān
Top: knife and hand , below: earth
With a knife in my hand I am on the earth: strong and resolute!
JLPT HSK 5
to punish, to penalize

Top: variant of eye 罒, bottom: word /, knife
You can use a (deprecating) stare, words or knifes for: punishing.
JLPT HSK 5
system, to control, to manufacture, to regulat
zhì
Left: cow , cloth ; right: knife
A cow wrapped in cloth and with a knife: what a system!
JLPT HSK 5
to go back, to return, to resign, conclude
guī
Left: knife , right: hand /; simplified from 帰 or 歸. Showed originally a man with a sword who returns to his wife (=hand with broom)
When the man with a sword is at his wife 妇 (today: hand without broom) he has returned.
JLPT HSK 5
a wound, injury, trauma, to inaugurate
chuāng, chuàng
Left: warehouse (Under the pointed roof is a roll of cloth in the warehouse.), right: knife
Go to the warehouse (for bandages) if a knife made a wound.
JLPT HSK 5
thorn, sting, to pierce, to stab

Left: thorn (Originally a tree with a pointed triangle symbolizing a thorn.), right: knife
Use a thorn or a knife for piercing.
JLPT HSK 5
lion
shī
Left: wild animal (dog on the hind legs), right: master, teacher 师 (knife, 帀 = as head and fabric as fur)
(The lion's fur is popular) The animal that you skin with a knife over its head is: the lion.
JLPT HSK 5
to delete, abridge, simplify, cancel
shān
Left: book, booklet , right: knife, to cut
"From the booklet it was cut", means (this page) was: deleted.
JLPT HSK 5
clear, deep (of water), swift, to skim over / to browse
liú
Left: water , right: 刘 (script, cultur [Image of a folding table for writing a text], knife [here: two pages])
Like "through the water" you read scripts (2 pages each), when skimming over.
JLPT HSK 5
just before doing sth., to face sth, approach
lín
Left: knife, to cut, right: half of bamboo , two mouths
He divided the bamboo with the knife. This he did just before giving it to the two mouths.
JLPT HSK 6
double-edged sword
jiàn
Left: together (A person as one is with three ツ together.), right: knife, to cut
A 'together' for cutting is the: double-edged sword.
JLPT HSK 6
to peel, scrape, reduce, shave, to cut (down)
xiāo, xuē
Left: alike/resemble (Small bodies are alike.), right: knife
Small bodies are cut with a knife, when scraping, whittling or peeling.
JLPT HSK 6
to differentiate, distinguish, recognize
biàn
Twice: bitter, sharp (tattoo needle), middle knife - Thus a double-bladed knife
A double-bladed knife has sharpnesses (at each blade), that differenciate.
JLPT HSK 6
to peel, to skin, to shell, to shuck, to flay
bāo, bō
Left: diary, record ("to squeeze out" = part of green 绿 where fibers are squeezed by hand a green 绿 liquid emerges), right: knife, to cut
What can be squeezed or cut, can be peeled.
JLPT HSK 6
deputy, assistant, secondary, auxiliary, vice-

Left barrel of rice wine (originally image of a barrel to offer at the temple, therefore also wealth and luck 福), right knife (Here as a variante of two )
This sake barrel is the second, as auxiliary - as a 'deputy'.
JLPT HSK 6
dose, medical substance

Left: be in the same level (A written text lays flatly on two vertical sticks丿|, that are in the same level.), right: knife, to cut
For achieving the same (=correct) level/amount, you cut it and get the dose.
JLPT HSK 6
punishment, penalty, sentence
xíng
Left: open, start (image of the entrance gate of a buddh. temple), right: knife
Who openly uses his knife, will be: punished.
JLPT HSK 6
Buddhist monastery 剎多羅, to brake, stop
chà, shā
Left: to kill 杀 (marker in the tree , where he was killed), right: knife
The cross at the tree was made with a knife and marks the area of the monastery.
JLPT HSK 6
to cut open, to analyze
pōu
Left: spit (stand with open mouth and spit), right: knife
Spit on the knife before you cut sth. open.
JLPT HSK 6
to cut, to cut apart, harvest

Left: damage (Under the roof is a growing potted plant ,, which damaged it.), right: knife
A damage is caused with the knife by cutting apart.
JLPT HSK 6
sound of wind, trompet, horn
lā, lǎ
Left: mouth , right: (bundle [Plants / like sheafs of rice (cf. ), which are bound with a ribbon as a bundle], knife )
From the mouth a bundle of cutting (sounds): The trompet!
JLPT HSK 6
to print, to publish, publication
kān
Left: dry (laundry rack), right: knife (Here: see the knife as printing plates )
You need dry printing plates for printing & publishing.
JLPT HSK 6
pick (at teeth), to scrape (meat from bone)

Left: easy (warming sunshine), right: knife
It is easy to use a knife for picking or scraping.
JLPT HSK 6
sieve, filter, to sift, screening (medicine)
shāi
Top: bamboo , bottom: master, teacher 师 (He has a knife , a stick and good cloth )
Bamboo was cut for it and the sieve is made of cloth : a sieve.
JLPT HSK 6
to rinse, hold briefly into boiling water
shuàn
Left: water , right: brush 刷 (The "tail" [= cloth at the buttocks ] is cut and used as a brush) [cf. tail 尾]
Use water and a brush for rinsing.
JLPT no HSK
to shave (beard), to weed

Left: younger brother (A feathered arrow λ from the bow of my younger brother.), right: knife, to cut
My younger brother (still) cuts himself when shaving.
JLPT no HSK
encourage, endeavor, to cut, to strive
zhāo
Left: metal 钅/, right: knife, to cut
The metal became a knife to cut. Therefore it was: "encouraged".
JLPT no HSK
Surname: Liu
liú
Left: text/language (image of a folding table, on which a text is written), right: knife, to cut
Who manages the texts and the cutting: Family Liu.
JLPT no HSK
unreasonable, perverse, absurd

Left: bundle (Plants like sheafs of rice (cf.), which are bound with a ribbon as a bundle), right: knife, to cut
The bundle was cut with the knife, which was unreasonable.
JLPT no HSK
to extirpate, to plagiarize, to destroy
chāo, jiǎo
Left: nest 巢 (three beaks in a nest in a tree ), right: knife, to cut
(All in) the nest I (kill) with the knife when extirpating.
JLPT no HSK
to level, to make smooth, eliminate, to question
bào, páo
Left: enwrap (The wrap itself makes it to be wrapped.), right: knife, to cut
At the enwrapped it is cut, when leveling it to make it smooth.
JLPT no HSK
to cut off, to amputate, slaughter
guì
Left: to meet, possible (When persons are speaking together as "two noses " they meet.), right: knife, to cut
At a 'meeting' of blades, something is: cut off.

Radicals are shown here that are similar either in appearance or meaning.

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