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Related words
- 凌迟líng chíthe lingering death
- 殊死shū sǐto behead
- 五刑wǔ xíngimperial five punishments of feudal China, up to Han times: tattooing characters on the forehead 墨[mo4], cutting off the nose 劓[yi4], amputation of one or both feet 刖[yue4], castration 宮|宫[gong1], execution 大辟[da4 pi4]
- 腰斩yāo zhǎnto chop sb in half at the waist (capital punishment)
Words with 斩
HSK levels
斩: New to the HSK lists at HSK 7-9. See where your old level lands
New exam levels follow the CLEC syllabus released 15 November 2025. The first official sitting of the new exam is announced for 13 December 2026, for HSK 1 to 6. HSK 7-9 is one advanced band.
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Frequently Asked Questions
斩 (zhǎn) means "to behead (as form of capital punishment); to chop" in Chinese. The new HSK exam tests it at HSK 7-9.
斩 is pronounced "zhǎn" in Mandarin Chinese. The tone number is 3.
斩 is an HSK 7-9 word on the new HSK exam syllabus.
Common words with 斩 include 斩新 (variant of 嶄新|崭新[zhan3 xin1]), 斩断 (to cut off), 斩杀 (to behead), 斩眼 (to blink (literary)), 斩首 (to behead).
You can practice writing 斩 using our stroke order tool.
Reviewed by RJ Murray, Founder, HSK Lord.