斩 (zhǎn): to chop
斩 (zhǎn) is a Chinese character meaning “to chop.” Classified as HSK Level 7-9 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 车 (phonetic) and 斤 (semantic). It ranks #2380 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 斩 axe. Its radical form 车 (cart) appears in many related characters such as 车 (chē, vehicle), 轻 (qīng, light), 辆 (liàng, measure word for vehicles).
Definitions
- to chop
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
Practice writing 斩 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 斩首 | zhǎn shǒu | to behead |
| 斩草除根 | zhǎn cǎo chú gēn | to cut weeds and eliminate the roots (idiom) |
| 斩断 | zhǎn duàn | to cut off |
| 过关斩将 | guò guān zhǎn jiàng | to surmount all difficulties (on the way to success) (idiom) (abbr. for 過五關斬六將|过五关斩六将[guo4 wu3 guan1 zhan3 liu4 jiang4]) |
| 披荆斩棘 | pī jīng zhǎn jí | lit. to cut one's way through thistles and thorns (idiom) |
| 斩钉截铁 | zhǎn dīng jié tiě | lit. to chop the nail and slice the iron (idiom) |
| 先斩后奏 | xiān zhǎn hòu zòu | lit. first execute the criminal, then report it to the emperor (idiom) |
| 过五关斩六将 | guò wǔ guān zhǎn liù jiàng | lit. to cross five passes and slay six generals (idiom) |
| 白斩鸡 | bái zhǎn jī | Cantonese poached chicken, known as "white cut chicken" |
| 两国相争，不斩来使 | liǎng guó xiāng zhēng , bù zhǎn lái shǐ | when two kingdoms are at war, they don't execute envoys (idiom) |
| 斩首行动 | zhǎn shǒu xíng dòng | (military) decapitation strike |
| 斩而不奏 | zhǎn ér bù zòu | to do sth and not report the fact (idiom) |
| 快刀斩乱麻 | kuài dāo zhǎn luàn má | lit. quick sword cuts through tangled hemp (idiom) |
| 斩新 | zhǎn xīn | variant of 嶄新|崭新[zhan3 xin1] |
| 满门抄斩 | mǎn mén chāo zhǎn | to execute the whole family and confiscate their property |
斩 appears in 19 compound words: 53 as the first character, 11 as the last, and 37 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 斩 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (6)
to act first and report later; to act first and seek permission therefor later
to act first and report later; to act first and seek permission therefor later
Example Sentences
斩草除根，彻底解决这个问题。
Zhǎncǎo-chúgēn, chèdǐ jiějué zhè gè wèntí.
Cut the weeds and eliminate the roots; solve this problem thoroughly.
半年内股价腰斩,泰德医药(03880)年度盈喜利好也难...
bàn nián nèi gǔ jià yāo zhǎn , tài dé yī yào ( 0 3 8 8 0 ) nián dù yíng xǐ lì hǎo yě nán . . .
The stock price has been cut in half a year, and it is difficult for Tide Pharmaceutical (03880) to be profitable...
川普下15天最后通牒 3月对伊发动“斩首”?
chuān pǔ xià 1 5 tiān zuì hòu tōng 牒 3 yuè duì yī fā dòng zhǎn shǒu ?
Trump issued a 15-day ultimatum to launch a "beheading" on Iran in March?
26岁女优邀粉丝“无套性爱”千人斩挑战! 他临上阵女友突来电
2 6 suì nǚ yōu yāo fěn sī wú tào xìng ài qiān rén zhǎn tiāo zhàn ! tā lín shàng zhèn nǚ yǒu tū lái diàn
The 26-year-old actress invites fans to "bareback sex" and challenge thousands of people! He was about to go into battle, and his girlfriend suddenly called
苏翊鸣斩获中国代表团米兰冬奥会首金 一份送给22...
sū 翊 míng zhǎn huò zhōng guó dài biǎo tuán mǐ lán dōng ào huì shǒu jīn yī fèn sòng gěi . . .
Su Yiming won the first gold medal of the Chinese delegation at the Winter Olympics in Milan, a gift for 22...
你还是曾经那个少年!苏翊鸣斩获中国队首金
nǐ hái shì céng jīng nā gě shǎo nián ! sū 翊 míng zhǎn huò zhōng guó duì shǒu jīn
You're still the same young man! Su Yiming wins China's first gold medal
我斩钉截铁地拒绝了。
Wǒ zhǎndīngjiétiě de jùjué le.
I flatly refused.
他用斧头重重的斩了一下，那棵树就倒了下来。
Tāyòng fǔtóu chóngchóng de zhǎn le yīxià, nà kē shù jiù dǎo le xiàlai.
The tree was felled with one hard blow of his ax.
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 斩 (zhǎn) mean in Chinese?
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What is the radical of 斩?
What are the components of 斩?
What are common words containing 斩?
What characters sound the same as 斩 (zhǎn)?
Is 斩 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
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