锹

鍬
qiāo
noun #37,840

Measure Word

一把锹 bǎ

Meanings

  1. 1 shovel; spade

Examples

HSK 5
Qǐng bǎ nà bǎ qiāo dì gěi wǒ.
Please pass me that shovel.
HSK 7-9
Tā náqǐ yìbǎ tiěqiāo wā tǔ.
He picked up an iron shovel and dug.

Tips

usage
锹 is most often seen in the compound 铁锹 ('iron shovel') - that's the everyday word for a shovel. Standalone 锹 also names the stag beetle (锹甲) because of its shovel-like jaws.

Components

radical
钅 jīn
metal (radical form of 金)
Left-side metal radical, the side form of 金. Indexes 锹 in the iron-tool family alongside 锯 saw, 锅 pot, 锄 hoe. A spade is a metal blade hafted to a wooden handle - the radical names what does the digging, the steel edge that bites into soil.
phonetic
秋 qiū
autumn
Right side 秋 supplies the sound: qiū to qiāo with vowel and tone shift. 秋 itself shows ripening grain beside fire, an autumn-harvest picture - but that imagery doesn't transfer. Borrowed purely for sound, although harvest season is when spades come out to turn the fields, which is a happy coincidence.

Stroke Order

锹 qiāo