Chinese word

锯

Pronunciation

Pinyinjù

Meaning

  • verbsaw

Example

他把木头锯成两半了。tā bǎ mù tou jù chéng liǎng bàn le

He sawed the wood in half.

Illustration for 锯 (saw)

More examples

工人用电锯把树枝锯断了。gōng rén yòng diàn jù bǎ shù zhī jù duàn le

The worker used an electric saw to saw through the branch.

Core concept

Moves a toothed blade through wood, metal, or another solid material until the piece is divided or shaped.

Common phrases

  • 锯断jù duàn

    saw through

  • 锯开jù kāi

    saw open

  • 锯成块jù chéng kuài

    saw into chunks

Similar words

切qiè: Cutting something apart with a knife or another sharp blade.
剪jiǎn: Cutting paper, cloth, hair, or another material with scissors.
砍kǎn: Chopping through wood or another object with force using an axe or blade.
割gē: Dividing something into two or more parts by cutting through it with force or a tool.

Definition in Chinese

用带锯齿的工具把物体沿着一条线锯开，常指把木头、金属等锯成两段或小片。yòng dài jù chǐ de gōng jù bǎ wù tǐ yán zhe yì tiáo xiàn jù kāi cháng zhǐ bǎ mù tou jīn shǔ děng jù chéng liǎng duàn huò xiǎo piàn

Word origin

The character 锯 (jù, "to saw") is built from 金 (jīn, "metal"), which points to the tool's material, and 居 (jū, "dwell"), which supplies its sound; the verb grows from the action of using that tool.

Usage tips

  • Chinese commonly puts the final shape or number of pieces after this verb, allowing a short sentence to show exactly what the cutting produces.

Opposites

Related words

  • 锯子jù zisawnoun
  • 锯条jù tiáosaw bladenoun
  • 链锯liàn jùchainsawnoun

Word lists with this word