剪刀
jiǎn dāo · HSK 5
scissors
✂️ 剪 = cut + 刀 = knife; literally 'cutting knife' = scissors
剪 (jiǎn) means to cut or clip, and 刀 (dāo) is the general word for knife or blade. Together they name the two-bladed cutting tool. The 刀 component also appears in 菜刀 (kitchen knife) and 刀子 (knife).
剪 — 前 (qián, phonetic) + 刀 (knife)
剪 is a semantic-phonetic compound. The bottom 刀 (knife) gives the meaning—cutting or shearing—while 前 above supplies the sound 'jian'. Originally 前 itself meant 'to cut' (showing a boat/foot being trimmed), but as 前 shifted to mean 'front', the knife radical 刀 was added to preserve the cutting sense.
刀 — single-component pictograph 刀 (knife/blade)
刀 is a pictograph of a single-edged knife or blade, with the curved stroke depicting the back of the blade and the hook representing the handle. Ancient bronze and oracle-bone forms clearly show a side view of a knife. It still means 'knife' today and serves as a radical in many cutting-related characters.