Knife: 刂

刂 is the right-side form of 刀, called りっとう. It often signals cutting: 削 means ‘shave’, 刈 ‘trim’, and 剣 is a ‘sword’; in 創, 刑 and 剤 its contribution is less directly visible, so use the whole character’s meaning too.

刈 is only 4 strokes, while 創 has 12. Keep the two strokes of 刂 compact and distinct on the right.

• 創 wound, start, originate
• 削 sharpen, whittle, shave
• 刑 punish, penalty, sentence
• 剤 dose, medicine, drug
• 剣 sword, blade
• 剰 surplus
• 剛 sturdy, strength
• 刈 reap, cut, trim, prune
• 剖 divide