tán

to pluck (a string)

to play (a string instrument); to spring or leap; to shoot (e.g. with a catapult); (of cotton) to fluff or tease; to flick; to flip; to accuse; to impeach; elastic (of materials)

bow (弓) + sound (单) = pluck, spring, or shoot

A bow (弓) stores tension and releases it — perfect for plucking strings or flinging projectiles. 单 mainly provides the sound tán; the bow carries all the action.

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SinglePhonetic
Bow (as in bow and arrow)Semantic

她每天都在家里钢琴。

tā měi tiān dōu zài jiā lǐ tán gāng qín。

She plays the piano at home every day.

他用手指了一下桌上的纸片。

tā yòng shǒu zhǐ tán le yī xià zhuō shàng de zhǐ piàn。

He flicked the piece of paper on the table with his finger.

Words with 弹

Q弹

q tán

(of a food's mouthfeel) springy

弹跳板

tán tiào bǎn

springboard

达姆弹

dá mǔ dàn

(loanword) dumdum bullet; expanding bullet

远程导弹

yuǎn chéng dǎo dàn

long distance missile

避弹坑

bì dàn kēng

foxhole

逻辑炸弹

luó jí zhà dàn

logic bomb

重磅炸弹

zhòng bàng zhà dàn

(fig.) sth that produces shockwaves

钢弹

gāng dàn

Gundam, Japanese animation franchise

闪光弹

shǎn guāng dàn

flashbang; stun grenade

防弹

fáng dàn

bulletproof

防弹衣

fáng dàn yī

bulletproof vest

陆基导弹

lù jī dǎo dàn

land-based missile

More characters with 弓