斩 zhǎn to chop
to chop; to cut; to sever; to behead
How it came to be
会意 · Meaning + meaning
Two or more parts whose meanings together make the new meaning.
The small seal form puts a cart beside an axe, which together mean to cut.
用法
- To chop through / behead: vivid, forceful, mostly in set phrases now.
- 斩钉截铁 (zhǎndīng-jiétiě), chopping nails and cutting iron, means resolute and unequivocal; 斩草除根 (zhǎncǎo-chúgēn) means to eliminate a problem at its root.