剑 (jiàn): double-edged sword, CL:口,把, classifier for blows of a sword
剑 (jiàn) is a Chinese character meaning “double-edged sword.” Classified as HSK Level 6 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 佥 (phonetic) and 刂 (semantic). It ranks #869 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 剑 knife. Its radical form 刂 (knife) appears in many related characters such as 分 (fēn, to divide), 别 (bié, to leave), 到 (dào, to reach).
Definitions
- double-edged sword
- CL:口,把
- classifier for blows of a sword
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
Practice writing 剑 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 剑桥proper-noun | jiàn qiáo | Cambridge |
| 宝剑noun | bǎo jiàn | (double-edged) sword (esp. a valuable or famous one) |
| 剑术noun | jiàn shù | swordsmanship |
| 击剑noun | jī jiàn | fencing (sport) |
| 剑客noun | jiàn kè | swordsman |
| 剑拔弩张phrase | jiàn bá nǔ zhāng | lit. with swords drawn and bows bent (idiom) |
| 短剑noun | duǎn jiàn | dagger |
| 剑齿虎noun | jiàn chǐ hǔ | saber-toothed tiger |
| 利剑noun | lì jiàn | sharp sword |
| 双刃剑noun | shuāng rèn jiàn | double-edged sword (lit. and fig.) |
| 唇枪舌剑phrase | chún qiāng shé jiàn | (idiom) to cross verbal swords |
| 剑道noun | jiàn dào | kendō (sports) |
| 刀剑noun | dāo jiàn | sword |
| 佩剑noun | pèi jiàn | sword |
| 刀光剑影 | dāo guāng jiàn yǐng | lit. flash of knives and swords (idiom) |
剑 appears in 56 compound words: 50 as the first character, 38 as the last, and 13 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 剑 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (10)
floating between zither and sword (idiom); fig. wandering aimlessly with no tenured position
single-edged and double-edged swords, spears and halberds; all kinds of ancient weapons
floating between zither and sword (idiom); fig. wandering aimlessly with no tenured position
single-edged and double-edged swords, spears and halberds; all kinds of ancient weapons
Showing 6 of 10 idioms containing 剑.
Example Sentences
写好剑字需要掌握正确的笔画顺序。
xiě hǎo jiàn zì xū yāo zhǎng wò zhēng què de bǐ huà shùn xù .
To write the character for "sword" correctly, you need to master the proper stroke order.
中工捍卫经营权!法律战剑指宝佳
zhōng gōng hàn wèi jīng yíng quán ! fǎ lǜ zhàn jiàn zhǐ bǎo jiā
China Workers Defend the Right to Operate! The legal battle sword points to Baojia
剑指男童性发育不良 长春高新“网红”软膏获...
jiàn zhǐ nán tóng xìng fā yù bù liáng cháng chūn gāo xīn wǎng hóng ruǎn gāo huò . . .
Pointing to boys' sexual dysplasia Changchun high-tech "Internet celebrity" ointment obtained...
挑灯看剑丨用AI赋能指挥信息系统
tiāo dēng kàn jiàn 丨 yòng A I fù néng zhǐ huī xìn xī xì tǒng
Lighting the lamp and looking at the sword丨Using AI to empower the command information system
...了!传升级韩籍啦啦队6本柱 规模称霸联盟剑指天花板
. . . le ! chuán shēng jí hán jí lā lā duì 6 běn zhù guī mó chèn bà lián méng jiàn zhǐ tiān huā bǎn
... It's over! Pass and upgrade the Korean cheerleading team 6 pillars to dominate the league on a large scale
...4 量子位 Euro-Q-Exa 启动,剑指技术主权
. . . 4 liàng zǐ wèi E u r o Q E x a qǐ dòng , jiàn zhǐ jì shù zhǔ quán
... 4 qubits Euro-Q-Exa launched, pointing to technological sovereignty
化锄为剑，化剑为锄。
Huà chú wèi jiàn, huà jiàn wèi chú.
Make the hoe your sword, and the sword your hoe.
剑齿虎是在冰河时期绝种的。
Jiànchǐhǔ shì zài bīnghéshíqī juézhǒng de.
It was during the ice age that the saber-toothed tiger became extinct.
克里斯扬起他的剑。
Kè lǐ sī yángqǐ tā de jiàn.
Chris swung his sword!
前往剑桥的列车将于五号月台开出。
Qiánwǎng Jiànqiáo de lièchē jiāng yú wǔhào yuètái kāi chū.
The train for Cambridge leaves from Platform 5.
Character Family
Semantic Family — Characters sharing the 刂 (knife) component
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 剑 (jiàn) mean in Chinese?
What's the difference between 剑 and 验?
How many strokes does 剑 have?
What is the radical of 剑?
What are the components of 剑?
What are common words containing 剑?
What characters sound the same as 剑 (jiàn)?
Is 剑 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 剑 with real-time feedback
Trace stroke sequences, hear spoken pronunciation, and build lasting retention with spaced repetition in the HanziFeed app.