剪

jiǎn

HSK 3.0 Level 5 Verb Common

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Definitions

1. scissors
2. shears
3. clippers
4. to cut with scissors
5. to trim
6. to wipe out or exterminate

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Character focus

Stroke order

11 strokes

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Word relationships

Related words

3 items

• 切 qiē 切 qiē to cut 剪 emphasises cutting with scissors or shears, while 切 means to cut with a knife: to cut
• 裁 cái 裁 cái to cut out (as a dress) 剪 for general cutting with scissors; 裁 for cutting cloth or paper to size or shape: to cut out (as a dress)
• 剪刀 jiǎn dāo 剪刀 jiǎn dāo scissors 剪 is the action of cutting; 剪刀 is the tool, scissors: scissors

Synonyms

1 item

• 修剪 xiū jiǎn 修剪 xiū jiǎn to prune 剪 and 修剪 both mean to trim, e.g. plants or hair; 修剪 is more formal or technical: to prune

Usage notes

Collocations

剪指甲 (jiǎn zhǐjia) – trim nails; 剪头发 (jiǎn tóufa) – cut hair. Never use 切 for these.

Common mistakes

剪 is not used for cutting with a knife; use 切 (qiē) for slicing food or chopping.

Example Sentences

2 shown

我用 剪 刀 剪 纸。

I cut paper with scissors.

你想將頭髮 剪 成怎樣？

Source: Tatoeba.org (ID 885535)

Sentence data courtesy of Tatoeba.org. AI-generated examples are marked with this icon.

Words Containing 剪

• 剪刀 剪刀 jiǎn dāo: scissors
• 剪子 剪子 jiǎn zi: clippers
• 剪彩 剪彩 jiǎn cǎi: to cut the ribbon (at a launching or opening ceremony)
• 修剪 修剪 xiū jiǎn: to prune
• 删剪 删剪 shān jiǎn: to cut (from a movie etc)
• 剪刀差 剪刀差 jiǎn dāo chā: prices scissor (caught between low income and high prices)
• 剪刀石头布 剪刀石头布 jiǎn dāo shí tou bù: rock-paper-scissors (game)
• 剪切 剪切 jiǎn qiē: to shear
• 剪切力 剪切力 jiǎn qiē lì: shear
• 剪切形变 剪切形变 jiǎn qiē xíng biàn: shearing
• 剪力 剪力 jiǎn lì: shear
• 剪嘴鸥 剪嘴鸥 jiǎn zuǐ ōu: (bird species of China) Indian skimmer (Rynchops albicollis)
• 剪报 剪报 jiǎn bào: newspaper cutting
• 剪影 剪影 jiǎn yǐng: paper-cut silhouette
• 剪径 剪径 jiǎn jìng: to waylay and rob
• 剪应力 剪应力 jiǎn yìng lì: shear stress
• 剪成 剪成 jiǎn chéng: cut into
• 剪掉 剪掉 jiǎn diào: to cut off
• 剪接 剪接 jiǎn jiē: film-editing
• 剪断 剪断 jiǎn duàn: to cut
• 剪枝 剪枝 jiǎn zhī: to prune (branches etc)
• 剪纸 剪纸 jiǎn zhǐ: papercutting (Chinese folk art)
• 剪䌽 剪䌽 jiǎn cǎi: to cut the ribbon (at an opening)
• 剪草机 剪草机 jiǎn cǎo jī: lawnmower
• 剪草除根 剪草除根 jiǎn cǎo chú gēn: lit. cut grass and pull out roots (idiom); fig. to destroy root and branch
• 剪裁 剪裁 jiǎn cái: to tailor (clothes)
• 剪贴板 剪贴板 jiǎn tiē bǎn: clipboard (computing)
• 剪贴簿 剪贴簿 jiǎn tiē bù: scrapbook
• 剪辑 剪辑 jiǎn jí: to edit (video images, film)
• 剪除 剪除 jiǎn chú: to eradicate
• 剪头发 剪头发 jiǎn tóu fa: (to get a) haircut
• 包剪锤 包剪锤 bāo jiǎn chuí: rock-paper-scissors (game)
• 反剪 反剪 fǎn jiǎn: with hands behind one's back
• 大剪刀 大剪刀 dà jiǎn dāo: shears
• 打薄剪刀 打薄剪刀 dǎ báo jiǎn dāo: thinning scissors
• 指甲剪 指甲剪 zhǐ jia jiǎn: nail clipper
• 洗剪吹 洗剪吹 xǐ jiǎn chuī: shampoo, haircut and blow-dry
• 疏剪 疏剪 shū jiǎn: to prune
• 石头、剪子、布 石头、剪子、布 shí tou , jiǎn zi , bù: rock-paper-scissors (hand game)
• 粗剪 粗剪 cū jiǎn: (cinema) rough cut
• 裁剪 裁剪 cái jiǎn: to cut out
• 双瞳剪水 双瞳剪水 shuāng tóng jiǎn shuǐ: clear, bright eyes (idiom)