tián
verb

Meanings

  1. 1 (classical) to hunt
  2. 2 (classical) to cultivate land

Examples

Gǔdài jūnwáng cháng dào yěwài dǎliè.
The ancient kings often went hunting in the wilds.

Tips

history
is a classical verb for hunting (and, by extension, working a field) and is not used independently in modern Chinese, where 打猎 covers the meaning. It combines the field radical with a 'hand action' element; you meet it in old texts like the rhapsodies and histories.
register
Classical and literary only. appears in ancient prose and poetry, not in everyday speech.

Components

radical
tián
field; farmland
The 'field' radical also carries the sound: it both indexes and points at land where one hunts or farms.
semantic
to tap; an action of the hand
The 'strike / action' element (a hand wielding a tool) adds the active verb sense: doing something on the field, that is, hunting or tilling.

Stroke Order

tián