bǐ

匕

Character · Noun

ancient ladle; dagger

Tone colorsmāmámǎmàma

Meanings

2 senses · 4 examples
1.

noun

ancient ladle-like eating utensil

archaic

Refers specifically to a type of spoon or ladle used in ancient China. It is the precursor to modern spoons.

Kǎo考
gǔ古
xué学
jiā家
chū出
tǔ土
le了
yī一
gè个
Shāng商
dài代
de的
qīng青
tóng铜
bǐ匕
 。

Archaeologists unearthed a bronze ladle from the Shang Dynasty.

Bǐ匕
shì是
gǔ古
dài代
zhòng重
yào要
de的
cān餐
jù具
zhī之
yī一
 。

The 'bi' was one of the important eating utensils in ancient times.

2.

noun

dagger

literary

Used in classical Chinese. Most commonly seen in the idiom '图穷匕见' (the map is unrolled, the dagger is revealed — the real intention is revealed in the end).

Tú图
qióng穷
bǐ匕
xiàn见
 ，
cì刺
kè客
de的
zhēn真
shí实
yì意
tú图
bào暴
lù露
le了
 。

When the map was unrolled, the dagger was revealed, exposing the assassin's true intention.

Tā他
xiù袖
zhōng中
àn暗
cáng藏
yī一
bǎ把
lì利
bǐ匕
 。

He secretly hid a sharp dagger in his sleeve.