Chinese word

砍

Pronunciation

Pinyinkǎn

Meaning

  • verbchop

Example

我们用斧头砍那棵树。wǒ men yòng fǔ tóu kǎn nà kē shù

We use an axe to chop down that tree.

Illustration for 砍 (chop)

More examples

顾客试图跟店主砍价。gù kè shì tú gēn diàn zhǔ kǎn jià

The customer tried to bargain over the price with the shop owner.

Core concept

A forceful cut that separates something or removes part of it, from a tree to a budget.

Common phrases

  • 砍掉kǎn diào

    cut off

  • 砍价kǎn jià

    bargain over the price

Similar words

切qiè: Separating or cutting an object with a knife, scissors, or another blade.
减少jián shǎo: Reducing the size, amount, or level of something.
削减xuē jiǎn: Cutting costs or quantities under an official plan or decision.
砍价kǎn jià: Bargaining with a seller to lower the price.

Definition in Chinese

用刀、斧等用力把物体切开或切断，也可以引申为把数量、费用等减少或削减。yòng dāo fǔ děng yòng lì bǎ wù tǐ qiē kāi huò qiē duàn yě ké yǐ yǐn shēn wèi bǎ shù liàng fèi yòng děng jián shǎo huò xuē jiǎn

Word origin

The core verb 砍 (kǎn, "to chop") describes forceful cutting with an axe or knife, and this physical sense extends to removing part of a quantity or cost.

Usage tips

  • For native English speakers, chop often brings kitchen food to mind, but this Chinese verb also fits trees and nonphysical amounts, so the surrounding object determines the intended scene.

Other meanings

  • fellverb
  • cut offverb
  • slashverb

Opposites

Related words

Word lists with this word