dāo
knife
我用刀切菜。
wǒ yòng dāo qiè cài.
I use a knife to cut vegetables.
他用刀削苹果。
tā yòng dāo xuē píngguǒ.
He uses a knife to peel an apple.
小心，刀很锋利。
xiǎoxīn, dāo hěn fēnglì.
Be careful, the knife is very sharp.
刃 (rèn)
blade
刀子 (dāozi)
knife
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The Chinese character 刀 (dāo) for "knife" is a pictograph that depicts a blade. The earliest known form of the character, found in oracle bone inscriptions from the Shang dynasty (c. 1600–1046 BCE), shows a simple blade with a handle. Over time, the character evolved to its current form, which is composed of two parts: the radical 刂 (dāo), which represents a knife, and the phonetic component 刀 (dāo), which is pronounced the same as the radical. The character 刀 (dāo) is used in a variety of words related to knives and cutting, such as 刀子 (dāozi, "knife"), 菜刀 (càidāo, "kitchen knife"), and 剪刀 (jiǎndāo, "scissors"). It is also used in figurative expressions, such as 刀光剑影 (dāoguāngjiànyǐng, "a scene of fierce fighting") and 快刀斩乱麻 (kuàidāozhǎnluànmá, "to cut through red tape").
