剪 meaning in English

jiǎn

(bound form) scissors or similar tool; to cut as with scissors

HSK 5verb11 strokes

Meaning of 剪

Definitions from CC-CEDICT.

jiǎn

(bound form) scissors or similar tool
to cut as with scissors
(bound form) to wipe out; to exterminate
to edit (video, audio etc)

Jiǎn

surname Jian

How to use 剪

剪 is the everyday verb for cutting with scissors or clippers, such as cutting hair, paper, or nails. It also appears in 剪辑 (jiǎnjí) for editing video or audio. Example: 我明天去剪头发。(Wǒ míngtiān qù jiǎn tóufa.) I am getting a haircut tomorrow.

剪 (jiǎn) has 前 (qián, front) on top and 刀 (dāo, knife) at the bottom. Picture two blades meeting at the front to snip, like scissors cutting.

Common mistake: Learners often use 切 (qiē) and 剪 interchangeably. 切 is cutting with a knife, like vegetables, while 剪 is cutting with scissors, so 剪纸 (jiǎnzhǐ) means cutting paper, not 切纸. Also remember the bottom is 刀, not the side knife 刂 found in 前.

剪 in example sentences

Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.

她tā有yǒu时shí候hòu让ràng她tā的de妈mā妈mā剪jiǎn头tóu发fà。

She sometimes has her mother cut her hair.

我wǒ没méi剪jiǎn过guò他tā们men的de头tóu发fà。

I've never cut their hair.

我wǒ能néng借jiè用yòng你nǐ的de剪jiǎn刀dāo吗ma？

Can I borrow your scissors?

他tā一yí个gè月yuè剪jiǎn三sān次cì头tóu发fà。

He gets a haircut three times a month.

你nǐ想xiǎng怎zěn么me剪jiǎn你nǐ的de头tóu发fà？

How do you want your hair cut?

Stroke order for each character

Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.

剪 jiǎn · scissors or similar tool · 11 strokes

Related words

Words that share a character with 剪.

剪刀	jiǎndāo	scissors
剪子	jiǎnzi	clippers; scissors
剪掉	jiǎndiào	to cut off; to cut away
剪辑	jiǎnjí	to edit (raw footage: film, video, audio etc); edited version
修剪	xiūjiǎn	to prune; to trim
剪头发	jiǎntóufa	(to get a) haircut
剪断	jiǎnduàn	to cut; to snip
剪报	jiǎnbào	newspaper cutting; clippings
剪接	jiǎnjiē	to edit (raw footage: film, video, audio etc); (genetics) to splice

Questions about 剪

What does 剪 mean?

剪 (jiǎn) means "(bound form) scissors or similar tool; to cut as with scissors" and is used as a verb.

How do you write 剪?

剪 is made of 1 character: 剪 (11 strokes). That is 11 strokes in total.

Is 剪 an HSK word?

Yes. 剪 is on the HSK 5 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.

What is the difference between 剪刀 and 剪子?

Both mean scissors. 剪刀 (jiǎndāo) is the more standard and common word, while 剪子 (jiǎnzi) sounds more colloquial and is heard often in northern speech.

How do I say I want to cut my nails?

Say 我要剪指甲 (wǒ yào jiǎn zhǐjia). Chinese uses 剪 for nails because you use clippers, the same verb as for hair.