lián
noun #26,323

Measure Word

一把

Meanings

  1. 1 sickle
  2. 2 scythe

Examples

Nóngmín yòng lián shōugē xiǎomài.
The farmer used a sickle to harvest wheat.
Chuízi hé lián shì gòngchǎnzhǔyì de xiàngzhēng.
The hammer and sickle are symbols of communism.

Tips

culture
The sickle () paired with the hammer () forms the iconic symbol of the Soviet Union and communist movements worldwide.

Components

radical
jīn
metal; gold (radical form)
Left metal radical (the side-form of ) — the indexing radical, marking as a metal tool. Same radical builds hoe, spade, knife's cousin , saw. Whenever a Chinese word names an iron implement of farming or craft, expect anchoring the left.
phonetic
lián
honest; incorruptible (here phonetic)
Right supplies the sound lián, an exact match with no drift. The 'upright, frugal' sense plays no part in the meaning; pure sound peg. Same phonetic appears in curtain (also lián) and the river name. 镰刀 lián​dāo names the curved sickle paired with the hammer on Chinese state heraldry.

Stroke Order

lián