Character breakdown
Study each Hanzi separately, then return to the complete word so pronunciation, meaning, and movement stay connected.
How to learn 剃刀
Listen once without reading, repeat the pinyin with its tones, then write every character in sequence. Finally, recall the complete meaning instead of memorizing each character as an isolated translation.
When the word appears in a sentence, check whether its part of speech and meaning match the definition shown here. Chinese words can change nuance with context.
Words with the same characters
Compare how a familiar Hanzi changes meaning inside another word.
scissors; CL:把[ba3]
剃头tì tóuto have one's head shaved
剃度tì dùto take the tonsure; to shave the head; tonsure (shaved head of Buddhist monk)
剃光头tì guāng tóuto shave the whole head clean; crushing defeat
剃发令tì fà lìngthe Qing order to all men to shave their heads but keep a queue, first ordered in 1646
鬼剃头guǐ tì tóuspot baldness (alopecia areata)