How to Write 剳 (dá) — Meaning “sickle or hook-knife”

Imagine a farmer using a knife (刂) to cut down grass and plants (represented by 荅, which has a grass radical on top). The sound 'dá' can remind you of 'dab' — as in dabbing with a hook-knife to slice through crops. Picture the 刂 as the curved blade of a sickle hooking into the plants of 荅.

Write the left part 荅 first: start with the grass radical (艹), then the 合 inside — the top 人, then a horizontal line, then 口. Finish with the right side 刂: a short left-falling stroke followed by a vertical hook. Be careful that the 刂 vertical hook is thin and straight, and do not make the left part too large — keep the whole character balanced.

剳 (dá) means a sickle or hook-knife, while 剔 (tī) means to pick or scrape with a knife, and 剖 (pōu) means to cut open or dissect. Visually, 剳 has the left component 荅 (with grass on top), 剔 has 易 (like a sun and a hook), and 剖 has 咅 (a standing mouth on a side). Their meanings all involve cutting, but each is used for a different action or tool.

剳 is not a common character in everyday modern Chinese; it appears mainly in historical or literary contexts. For example, 剳记 means 'reading notes' or annotations in classical scholarship, and 纸剳 refers to a brief letter or document. If you study ancient texts or traditional calligraphy, you might encounter 剳, but it is rarely used in modern conversation.

Common words containing 剳 include: 剳记 (dá jì) — reading notes; 纸剳 (zhǐ dá) — note; brief letter; document; 剳子 (dá zi) — sickle or small hook-knife.