剪 (jiǎn) is a Chinese character meaning “scissors”. It is written from 前 (front; before) and 刀 (knife), one above the other, and takes 11 strokes.
Build the character for “to cut”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
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Structure
前 + 刀
Top–bottom structure
Structure from: IDS ⿱前刀 (cjkvi-ids / makemeahanzi decomposition, build-time only), verified against hanzi-writer-data strokes 0–8 = 前, 9–10 = 刀
Memory aid
Hold a knife (刀) out in front (前) of you and snip — that is how you cut with scissors.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
11 strokes
In real words
- 剪刀jiǎn dāoscissors剪 = jiǎn
- 剪纸jiǎn zhǐpaper cutting (folk art)剪 = jiǎn
Go deeper
All readings
to cut (with scissors)
scissors; to cut with scissors; to trim; to clip
用剪刀等把东西断开；也指剪刀。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 剪刀jiǎn dāoscissors剪 = jiǎn
- 剪纸jiǎn zhǐpaper cutting (folk art)剪 = jiǎn
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 剪 mean?
剪 (jiǎn) means scissors; to cut with scissors; to trim; to clip.
How do you pronounce 剪?
It is pronounced jiǎn.
What parts is 剪 made of?
前 (front; before) and 刀 (knife), one above the other. The recorded source is: IDS ⿱前刀 (cjkvi-ids / makemeahanzi decomposition, build-time only), verified against hanzi-writer-data strokes 0–8 = 前, 9–10 = 刀. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 剪 have?
11. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 剪?
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 剪?
Common ones are 剪刀 and 剪纸. The reading of 剪 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.