刀 (dāo) is a Chinese character meaning “a knife”. It is written from 乛 (horizontal hook stroke) and 丿 (left-falling stroke), one enclosing the other, and takes 2 strokes.
Build the character for “knife”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
乛 + 丿
Enclosing structure
Structure from: makemeahanzi dictionary decomposition candidate, checked against hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 two-stroke geometry
Memory aid
The hooked stroke (乛) wraps around a left-falling stroke (丿), forming the outline of a knife.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
2 strokes
In real words
- 小刀xiǎo dāosmall knife; pocketknife刀 = dāo
- 菜刀cài dāokitchen knife; cleaver刀 = dāo
- 刀刃dāo rènthe edge of a knife; blade刀 = dāo
- 剃须刀tì xū dāorazor; shaver刀 = dāo
- 剪刀jiǎn dāoscissors刀 = dāo
- 钝刀dùn dāoa blunt knife刀 = dāo
Go deeper
All readings
knife
a knife; a cutting tool or blade
切、割、削等所用的工具；也可指刀刃。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 小刀xiǎo dāosmall knife; pocketknife刀 = dāo
- 菜刀cài dāokitchen knife; cleaver刀 = dāo
- 刀刃dāo rènthe edge of a knife; blade刀 = dāo
- 剃须刀tì xū dāorazor; shaver刀 = dāo
- 剪刀jiǎn dāoscissors刀 = dāo
- 钝刀dùn dāoa blunt knife刀 = dāo
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 刀 mean?
刀 (dāo) means a knife; a cutting tool or blade.
How do you pronounce 刀?
It is pronounced dāo.
What parts is 刀 made of?
乛 (horizontal hook stroke) and 丿 (left-falling stroke), one enclosing the other. The recorded source is: makemeahanzi dictionary decomposition candidate, checked against hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 two-stroke geometry. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 刀 have?
2. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 刀?
刀. The radical is how the character is filed in a dictionary — it is not the whole story of how the character is built.
What words use 刀?
Common ones are 小刀 and 菜刀. The reading of 刀 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.