Chinese word

剃

Pronunciation

Pinyintì

Meaning

  • verbshave

Example

明天我要剃头。míng tiān wǒ yào tì tóu

Tomorrow I plan to shave my head.

Illustration for 剃 (shave)

More examples

医生建议手术前把要手术的部位剃干净。yī shēng jiàn yì shǒu shù qián bǎ yào shǒu shù de bù wèi tì gān jìng

The doctor recommended shaving the area to be operated on clean before surgery.

Core concept

Hair is taken off or greatly shortened by drawing a sharp edge across the body surface.

Common phrases

  • 剃胡须tì hú xū

    shave one's beard

  • 剃光头tì guāng tóu

    shave one's head bald

  • 剃头发tì tóu fa

    shave one's hair

Similar words

刮guā: Shorten hair by drawing a blade across it, usually close to the skin.
剪jiǎn: Cut hair or other things shorter with scissors.
理发lǐ fà: Cut or arrange the hair on the head to improve its appearance.
修剪xiū jiǎn: Trim unwanted parts of hair or branches with a tool to give them a neat shape.

Definition in Chinese

把头发、胡须等体表的毛用刀片刮除或大幅度修短的动作。bǎ tóu fa hú xū děng tí biǎo de máo yòng dāo piàn guā chú huò dà fú dù xiū duǎn de dòng zuò

Word origin

剃 (tì, "shave") is formed from 弟 (dì, "younger brother") + 刀 (dāo, "knife"), combining a sound component with the character for the tool that performs the action.

Usage tips

  • For English-speaking learners, the useful distinction is that this verb focuses on removing or closely reducing hair, not on the broader service of changing a person's hairstyle.

Opposites

  • 留liúlet growverb
  • 蓄须xù xūgrow a beardverb

Related words

Word lists with this word