How to say “knife” in Chinese
knife
“Knife” in Chinese is 刀, dāo: the meaning, a recording of how it sounds, the characters stroke by stroke and examples.
How to pronounce it
刀 is read dāo. The tone is part of the word: with another melody you get another word, or just a jumble of sounds.
How to write it
A drawing of a knife. On the side of a character it shrinks to 刂.
Strokes go in order: top to bottom and left to right, horizontal before vertical. Tap a character to open its page, with the strokes shown large and the words it appears in. To train your hand, print a handwriting sheet for “刀”.
Examples
Sentences from the course lessons with 刀. Tap the sound icon to listen.
- 能把剪刀递给我吗？néngbǎjiǎndāodìgěiwǒmaCan you pass me the scissors?
- 吃西餐要用刀和叉子chīxīcānyàoyòngdāohéchāziWestern food is eaten with a knife and fork.
- 我的手被刀切伤了，应该看内科还是外科？wǒdeshǒubèidāoqiēshāngle,yīnggāikànnèikēháishiwàikēI cut my hand with a knife — should I go to internal medicine or surgery?
More characters by topic — happiness, luck, strength, nature — on the page “Chinese characters with meanings”.
More words from the lesson “In the Kitchen”
Look up another word in the Chinese–English dictionary: in English, in pinyin or in characters.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say “knife” in Chinese?
“Knife” in Chinese is 刀, pinyin dāo.
What does 刀 mean?
刀 (dāo) means “knife”.
How do you write 刀?
刀 is 1 character. The stroke order of each one is shown step by step on this page.
How do you pronounce 刀?
刀 is read dāo. Tones: dāo — first tone. The page has a native speaker recording.
“knife” in the lesson “In the Kitchen”
This word is from the topic “Food and Cooking” of HSK 4. In the lesson you hear it in a dialogue, build a sentence with it and say it out loud. Start for free, no sign-up needed.
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