Chinese word

剪

Pronunciation

Pinyinjiǎn

Meaning

  • verbcut

Example

请用剪刀剪那根绳子。qǐng yòng jiǎn dāo jiǎn nà gēn shéng zi

Please cut that rope with scissors.

Illustration for 剪 (cut)

More examples

他用剪刀把报纸剪成了细条。tā yòng jiǎn dāo bà bào zhǐ jiǎn chéng le xì tiáo

He cut the newspaper into thin strips with scissors.

Core concept

A cutting action takes away unwanted material along a clear line, especially when the goal is a neat shape.

Common phrases

  • 剪头发jiǎn tóu fa

    cut hair

  • 剪纸jián zhǐ

    cut paper

  • 剪掉jiǎn diào

    cut off

Similar words

切qiè: Dividing an object into pieces by cutting it with a sharp tool.
削xuē: Removing a thin layer from the surface of something by scraping or cutting.

Definition in Chinese

用剪刀或类似工具把物体的一部分切断或修去，常指修整布料、头发、纸张等的动作。yòng jiǎn dāo huò lèi sì gōng jù bǎ wù tǐ de yí bù fèn qiē duàn huò xiū qù cháng zhǐ xiū zhěng bù liào tóu fa zhǐ zhāng děng de dòng zuò

Word origin

剪 (jiǎn, "cut") combines 刀 (dāo, "knife"), which points to cutting, with 前 (qián, "front"), which mainly contributes the pronunciation.

Usage tips

  • In everyday conversation, 剪 (jiǎn, "cut") often leaves the tool unstated and places the hair, paper, or fabric after it, keeping attention on the material being shaped.

Other meanings

  • trimverb

Opposites

Related words

Word lists with this word