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尖儿

尖兒
jiānr
noun #33,161

Meanings

  1. 1 the tip; the pointy end (of an object)
  2. 2 the cream of the crop; an outstanding person or thing
  3. 3 (in opera) a sudden high-pitched note

Examples

HSK 1
他在班里是尖儿。
Tā zài bānlǐ shì jiānr.
He's at the top of the class.
HSK 3
笔尖儿断了。
Bǐ jiānr duàn le.
The tip of the pen broke off.
HSK 7-9
演员唱到这里飙了一个尖儿，全场叫好。
Yǎnyuán chàng dào zhèlǐ biāo le yígè jiānr, quánchǎng jiàohǎo.
When the actor hit that high note, the whole house cheered.

Tips

register
尖儿 is the erhua-suffixed (儿化) Beijing-flavored form of 尖 - colloquial, spoken, northern. Three live senses: (1) physical tip (笔尖儿 pen-tip, 鼻尖儿 nose-tip), (2) the outstanding one ('cream of the crop' - 班里的尖儿, 顶尖儿), (3) Beijing/Peking opera term for a soaring high note. The non-erhua 尖 covers the same meanings but in formal / standard register.
memory
尖 itself is a beautiful character: 小 (small) on top + 大 (big) on bottom = a shape that goes from big to small - a point. Add 儿 for the spoken Beijing 'r-ending' that turns nouns intimate and tangible: 哥哥 → 哥儿, 花 → 花儿.

Stroke Order

尖 jiān
儿 ér