剑 (jiàn): sword (double-edged)

Measure Word

一把剑 bǎ

Meanings

1 sword (double-edged)
2 fencing sword

Characters

剑

jiàn

sword

Examples

他练了很多年的剑术。

Tā liàn le hěnduō nián de jiànshù.

He has practiced swordsmanship for many years.

这把剑是古代的。

Zhè bǎ jiàn shì gǔdài de.

This sword is from ancient times.

太极剑是一种传统武术。

Tàijí jiàn shì yī zhǒng chuántǒng wǔshù.

Tai chi sword is a traditional martial art.

Tips

culture

In Chinese martial arts, 剑 (jiàn, double-edged sword) is considered the 'gentleman of weapons' (百兵之君), associated with elegance and scholars. 刀 (dāo, single-edged blade) is the more practical battlefield weapon.

usage

Common idiom: 双刃剑 (shuāng rèn jiàn) — 'double-edged sword,' used figuratively just like in English.

Components

radical

刂 dāo

knife (radical)

Right knife radical — vertical-stacking form of 刀. A sword is a long blade, so the knife radical is the natural classifier. Family: 刀 (knife), 利 (sharp/profit), 削 (carve), 刺 (stab). The radical positions 剑 firmly among bladed weapons even as the meaning is specifically the double-edged straight sword used in fencing.

phonetic

佥 qiān

all; (phonetic shape)

Left 佥 — the simplified phonetic, with sound qiān drifted to jiàn (initial palatalised, vowel preserved). Replaces the heavier traditional phonetic 僉 in the old form 劍. Same simplified-phonetic family: 检 (jiǎn, examine), 险 (xiǎn, risky), 验 (yàn, test) — sharing the simplified left side and similar rime.