Where the shape comes from
A knife seen from the side: the curved back of the blade above, the handle hanging below. On the right of a character it straightens into the upright 刂 — 别, 到, 前, 刻 — and squeezed on top of one it flattens to ⺈, as in 色 and 危. Underneath, it keeps its full shape: 分, 切.
汉字 filed under 刀
- 刀dāo (first tone, high and level)knife, blade; a sword2
- 分fēn (first tone, high and level) fèn (fourth tone, falling)to divide, to separate; a minute; a fraction, a mark out of a hundred; a cent; (fèn) a share, a part, a component4
- 到dào (fourth tone, falling)to arrive, to reach, to get to; to go to; up to, until; (as a verb complement) successfully8