剟 (duō) - to prick & to cut
剟 · duō
to prick;
to cut;
to engrave;
to delete;
to pick out;
to select
to prickto cutto engrave
Usage highlights
to engrave charactersto delete textto pick and chooseto cut and carveto prick with a needleto remove excess
Usage & contexts
Examples
- The artisan engraved patterns on the metal plate (剟刻花纹).
- The editor deleted unnecessary passages from the manuscript (剟除冗文).
- He carefully selected the best pieces from the collection (剟选精品).
Collocations
- to engrave characters(剟字)
- to delete text(剟文)
- to pick and choose(剟选)
- to cut and carve(剟刻)
- to prick with a needle(剟刺)
- to remove excess(剟除)
Idioms
- To pick flaws and nitpick(吹毛求剟)
- To carve and engrave meticulously(精雕细剟)
- To delete and revise repeatedly(刊剟不休)
Cultural background
FAQ- Originally referred to the act of pricking or cutting, often used in the context of carving bamboo slips in ancient China.
- In historical texts, it was used to describe the editing process of removing or marking sections of documents.
- The character appears in classical Chinese literature but is rarely used in modern vernacular Chinese.