Origin

This character pictures a knife or sword blade with a small dot marking the sharp edge. The component 刀 shows the basic shape of a blade, and the dot (丶) emphasizes the critical detail that makes a blade useful — its cutting edge. By highlighting where sharpness matters most, the character captures the essential idea of what a blade is: not just any piece of metal, but specifically the part that cuts. Over time, the shape simplified into these few strokes, but the meaning of "blade" or "edge" stayed attached.

AI-generated (claude-haiku-4-5), not yet reviewed. Formation type (automated guess): Compound ideographic (combined meanings).