Learn Chinese Characters

Meaning

(double-edged) sword

Chinese: 剑。

Hear the Four Tones

The same syllable “jian” becomes a different word in each tone. 剑 is the 4th tone. Tap any tone to hear a native voice and see its pitch shape.

Stroke Order

Tap Animate to watch the strokes in order, or Practice to trace it yourself.

Common Words

  • 刻舟求剑kè zhōu qiú jiànlit. a notch on the side of a boat to locate a sword dropped overboard (idiom); fig. an action made pointless by changed circumstances
  • 剑道jiàn dàokendō (sports)
  • 剑法jiàn fǎfencing; sword-play
  • 重剑zhòng jiànépée (fencing)
  • 利剑lì jiànsharp sword

Example Sentence

古时候的将军常常佩着一把剑。Gǔ shí hou de jiāng jūn cháng cháng pèi zhe yì bǎ jiàn.In ancient times, generals often wore a sword.

古时候Gǔ shí houin ancient timesdeof将军jiāng jūn(common place name)常常cháng chángfrequentlypèito respectzhe(ongoing action)one(marks the object)jiàndouble-edged sword