thorn

sting; thrust; to prick; to pierce; to stab; to assassinate; to murder

thorn (朿) + knife (刂) = pierce and stab

刂 is the knife radical, grounding the meaning in a sharp, cutting action. 朿 is a pictograph of a thorny plant and gives the sound cì, though it also reinforces the stabbing imagery.

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Knife (variant of 刀)Semantic
A pictograph of a thorny plantPhonetic

这朵玫瑰的很尖,小心别刺到手。

zhè duǒ méi gui de cì hěn jiān, xiǎo xīn bié cì dào shǒu。

the thorns on this rose are very sharp, be careful not to prick your hand.

他用针破了气球,发出很大的声音。

tā yòng zhēn cì pò le qì qiú, fā chū hěn dà de shēng yīn。

he pierced the balloon with a needle, making a very loud sound.

Words with 刺

遇刺

yù cì

to be attacked by an assassin

酒刺

jiǔ cì

acne

针刺

zhēn cì

to prick with a needle

针刺麻醉

zhēn cì má zuì

acupuncture anesthesia

头悬梁,锥刺股

tóu xuán liáng , zhuī cì gǔ

lit. with his head attached to a beam and stabbing his thigh with an awl (idiom)

马刺

mǎ cì

spur (on riding boots)

骨刺

gǔ cì

spur

倒刺

dào cì

barb

刺中

cì zhòng

to hit with a piercing blow

刺五加

cì wǔ jiā

manyprickle (Acanthopanax senticosus), root used in TCM

刺伤

cì shāng

to stab

刺儿

cì r

a thorn

More characters with 朿