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弹

彈
dàn / tán
noun #1,388

Meanings

  1. 1 bullet; pellet; shot
  2. 2 bomb; shell
  3. 3 ball (small projectile)

Examples

他身上中了一颗子弹。
Tā shēnshàng zhòng le yī kē zǐdàn.
He was hit by a bullet.
炸弹被成功拆除了。
Zhàdàn bèi chénggōng chāichú le.
The bomb was successfully defused.
导弹发射成功了。
Dǎodàn fāshè chénggōng le.
The missile was launched successfully.

Tips

usage
As dàn (4th tone) the character is a noun - a projectile or explosive: 子弹 (bullet), 炸弹 (bomb), 导弹 (missile). The verb sense 'to pluck / bounce / impeach / elastic' is read tán - see the tán entry.
memory
The dàn / tán split tracks object vs action: the THING shot from a bow is dàn (4th tone, a noun that sits there), the ACTION of releasing or vibrating is tán (2nd tone, rising like a string snapping back). Both senses share the 弓 bow radical because the original 弹 was a pellet-shooting slingbow.

Components

radical
弓 gōng
bow
Left bow radical - the indexing semantic. The original 弹 referred to pellets shot from a bow (the slingshot-like 弹弓). The bow radical anchors the projectile and launching meaning. Same in 张 (draw a bow), 弦 (bowstring), 弧 (arc) - all archery and curve-related.
phonetic
单 dān
single (here phonetic)
Right 单 supplies the sound - dān → dàn, only the tone differs. Simplified from traditional 彈 with the more elaborate 單 phonetic. Same phonetic in 蝉 (cicada) and 婵 (graceful). The 'single' meaning of 单 isn't actively semantic here.

Stroke Order

弹 dàn