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砭

biān
noun

Meanings

  1. 1 an ancient stone needle used in acupuncture
  2. 2 to lance with a stone needle; to sting (also figuratively, to criticize sharply)

Examples

古代医生用砭石来治病。
Gǔdài yīshēng yòng biānshí lái zhìbìng.
In ancient times doctors used stone needles to treat illness.
他的文章针砭时弊，如寒风刺骨。
Tā de wénzhāng zhēnbiān shíbì, rú hánfēng cìgǔ.
His essays sharply expose social ills, cutting like a cold wind.

Tips

history
Before metal needles, healers pierced acupuncture points with sharpened stones — that is the literal 砭石. From 'to lance painfully' it grew the figurative meaning in 针砭时弊 ('to sharply criticize the ills of the time').

Components

radical
石 shí
stone; rock
The stone radical 石 is literal here: the instrument was a sharpened stone, used before metal needles existed. It pins the meaning to a stone tool.
phonetic
乏 fá
lacking; tired
Supplies the sound. Standalone 乏 reads fá; here the reading shifts to biān. It is the phonetic element only, with no bearing on the meaning.

Stroke Order

砭 biān