Meaning of 箭
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- arrow
Measure word: 支
How to use 箭
箭 means arrow and appears mostly in compounds like 火箭 (huǒjiàn, rocket), 射箭 (shèjiàn, archery) and 箭头 (jiàntóu, arrowhead or arrow symbol). Its measure word is usually 支 (zhī). Example: 他射了一支箭。(Tā shè le yì zhī jiàn.) He shot an arrow.
箭 has the bamboo top ⺮ over 前 (qián, front). Picture a bamboo shaft that flies to the front, and you have an arrow. The 前 part also hints at the sound, since jiàn rhymes with qián.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 箭 (jiàn) with 剪 (jiǎn, to cut), which has the same 前 part but a 刀 knife at the bottom instead of a bamboo top. The tones also differ: 箭 is fourth tone, 剪 is third tone.
箭 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
箭 jiàn · arrow · 15 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 箭.
Questions about 箭
What does 箭 mean?
箭 (jiàn) means "arrow" and is used as a noun.
How do you write 箭?
箭 is made of 1 character: 箭 (15 strokes). That is 15 strokes in total.
Is 箭 an HSK word?
Yes. 箭 is on the HSK 6 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How do you say 'follow the arrow' when reading signs in Chinese?
Signs often use 箭头 (jiàntóu) for the printed arrow symbol. You might hear 按箭头方向走 (àn jiàntóu fāngxiàng zǒu), meaning walk in the direction of the arrow.
Is there a common idiom with 箭?
Yes. 归心似箭 (guī xīn sì jiàn) means longing to go home, with your heart flying back like an arrow. People often use it before holidays like Spring Festival.