刀

See also: ㄉ

Translingual

Stroke order

Alternative forms

• 刂 (when used as a right Radical)

Etymology

Pictogram (象形)

Oracle bone script	Bronze inscriptions	Large seal script	Small seal script

Han character

刀 (radical 18 刀+0, 2 strokes, cangjie input 尸竹 (SH), four-corner 1722₀)

1. knife, blade, sword
2. a type of Chinese sabre in the shape of a large knife
3. a type of ancient coin
4. measure

Descendants

• ㄉ

Derived terms

• 罰
• Index:Chinese radical/刀

References

• KangXi: page 135, character 24
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 1845
• Dae Jaweon: page 304, character 4
• Hanyu Da Zidian: volume 1, page 319, character 12
• Unihan data for U+5200

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Cantonese

Hanzi

刀 (Jyutping dou1, Yale dou1)

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Hakka

Hanzi

刀 (POJ tau, to, Guangdong tau¹ [Meixian], tau¹, to¹ [Hailu], Hagfa Pinyim dau1)

References

• CCDICT (Chineselanguage.org)
• Academia Sinica - Hakka-English Dictionary
• Lau, Chun-fat. Hakka Pinyin Dictionary (Chinese). Hong Kong: The Chinese University Press, 1997 (Chinese IME supplement) ISBN 962-201-750-9.

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Japanese

Wikipedia ^ja

Kanji

刀

(grade 2 “Kyōiku” kanji)

Readings

• Goon: とう (tō) < たう (tau), と (to)
• Kan’on: とう (tō) < たう (tau)
• Kun: かたな (katana)
• Nanori: き (ki), ち (chi), と (to), わき (waki)

Compounds

Compounds with irregular readings of 刀

薙刀 (なぎなた, ​naginata): a traditional Japanese halberd 太刀 (たち, ​tachi): a traditional Japanese longsword 馬刀貝 (まてがい, ​mategai): a razor clam

Etymology 1

Compound of 片 (kata, “one side”) +‎ 刃 (na, “edge”).

Pronunciation

• Kun'yomi
• かたな​ (Odaka)
• かた​な (Nakadaka)
• IPA^(key): [ka̠ta̠na̠]

Noun

刀 (hiragana かたな, romaji katana)

1. (weaponry) a single-edged sword
2. (weaponry) more specifically, a katana
3. a small single-edged blade

Synonyms

• (small blade): 切れ物 (きれもの, ​kiremono)

Coordinate terms

• 脇差 (わきざし, ​wakizashi) traditional Japanese shortsword (30cm to 60cm)
• 短刀 (たんとう, ​tantō) traditional Japanese knife or dagger (30cm and shorter)
• 大小 (だいしょう, ​daishō): “big and small”: the katana and wakizashi as a set

Related terms

• (sword, two-edged): 剣 (つるぎ, ​tsurugi)

Derived terms

Derived terms

刀市 (かたないち, ​katana ichi): a sword market 刀引 (かたなびき, ​katanabiki): giving a sword worn on one's hip to another as a gift at a banquet or other social gathering

小刀 (こがたな, ​kogatana): a small knife, a penknife, a pocketknife, a jackknife 腰刀 (こしがたな, ​koshigatana): a hip-sword, smaller than a katana and with no 鍔 (tsuba, “sword guard”)

Idioms

Idioms

刀折れ矢尽きる (かたなおれやつきる, ​katana ore ya tsukiru): “swords bent, out of arrows” → completely routed, a complete loss in battle 刀に懸けて (かたなにかけて, ​katana ni kakete): “[depending, swearing] on one's sword” → a metaphor for firm resolve to see something through 刀の錆び (かたなのさび, ​katana no sabi): “sword rust” → a metaphor for killing someone or being killed, from the way that blood can cause the steel of a sword to rust; a derogatory term for someone who isn't even worth soiling a sword

Etymology 2

From Middle Chinese 刀 (taw). Compare modern Mandarin 刀 (dāo).

Pronunciation

• On'yomi
• と​う (Atamadaka)
• IPA^(key): [to̞ː]

Noun

刀 (hiragana とう, historical hiragana たう, romaji tō)

1. a sword, a katana
2. a scalpel, such as that used by a surgeon
3. a kind of bronze or copper money in ancient China, shaped a bit like a sword

Synonyms

• (sword in general): 刀剣 (とうけん, ​tōken)
• (scalpel): メス (​mesu)
• (Chinese money): 刀銭, 刀泉 (とうせん, ​tōsen)

Derived terms

Derived terms

刀下 (とうか, ​tōka): the underside or back of a blade 刀架 (とうか, ​tōka): a sword stand 刀剣 (とうけん, ​tōken): a sword in general, either single- or double-bladed 刀工 (とうこう, ​tōkō): a swordsmith 刀貨 (とうせん, ​tōsen): a kind of bronze or copper money in ancient China, shaped a bit like a sword 斬馬刀 (ざんばとう, ​zanbatō): an especially large, curved sword

小刀 (しょうとう, ​shōtō): a small knife, short sword 大刀 (だいとう, ​daitō): a long sword, a katana 短刀 (たんとう, ​tantō): a short sword 直刀 (ちょくとう, ​chokutō): a straight sword 日本刀 (にほんとう, ​nihontō): a katana, a Japanese sword, a long sword with a single-edge 木刀 (ぼくとう, ​bokutō): a wooden sword

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Korean

Hanja

刀
Eumhun:

• Sound (hangeul): 도 (do) (revised: do, McCune-Reischauer: to)

• Name (hangeul): 칼 (kal)()

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Mandarin

Pronunciation

• audio

  (file)

Hanzi

刀 (Pinyin dāo (dao1), fèn (fen4), Wade-Giles tao¹, fen⁴)

Noun

刀 (traditional and simplified, Pinyin dāo, measure word 把)

1. knife, blade
2. single-edged sword, cutlass
3. (slang) dollar (laonword)

Derived terms

• 操刀
• 刺刀
• 大刀 (dàdāo)
• 大砍刀
• 刀把儿
• 刀背, 刀背儿
• 刀笔
• 刀币
• 刀兵 (dāobīng)
• 刀柄
• 刀叉 (dāochā)
• 刀法
• 刀锋
• 刀斧手 (dāofǔshǒu)
• 刀耕火种
• 刀光剑影
• 刀具

• 刀锯
• 刀口
• 刀螂
• 刀马旦
• 刀片, 刀片儿
• 刀枪
• 刀鞘 (dāoqiào)
• 刀刃 (dāorèn), 刀刃儿
• 刀山火海
• 刀伤
• 刀削面
• 刀子 (dāozi)
• 刀俎
• 短弯刀 (duǎnwāndāo)
• 剪刀 (jiǎndāo)
• 军刀

Measure word

刀 (traditional and simplified, Pinyin dāo)

1. measure word for sets of one hundred sheets of paper

Phrase

• 刀子嘴豆腐心

References

• "刀" (in Mandarin/English), MDBG English to Chinese dictionary ( Based on CC-CEDICT ). URL accessed on 2014-03-01.

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Middle Chinese

Han character

刀 (*dɑu)

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Min Nan

Hanzi

刀 (TLPA to (to¹), Guangdong dou¹)

References

• Taiwan Min Nan Common Words Dictionary (臺灣閩南語常用詞辭典)
• VoiceDic (汉语方言发音字典)

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Vietnamese

Han character

刀 (đao, dao, đeo)

References

• Nom Foundation