弹

tán

to pluck (a string)

to play (a string instrument); to spring or leap; to shoot (e.g. with a catapult); (of cotton) to fluff or tease; to flick; to flip; to accuse; to impeach; elastic (of materials)

bow (弓) + sound (单) = pluck, spring, or shoot

A bow (弓) stores tension and releases it — perfect for plucking strings or flinging projectiles. 单 mainly provides the sound tán; the bow carries all the action.

弓+单→弹
单SinglePhonetic
弓Bow (as in bow and arrow)Semantic

她每天都在家里弹钢琴。

tā měi tiān dōu zài jiā lǐ tán gāng qín。

She plays the piano at home every day.

他用手指弹了一下桌上的纸片。

tā yòng shǒu zhǐ tán le yī xià zhuō shàng de zhǐ piàn。

He flicked the piece of paper on the table with his finger.

Words with 弹

Q弹

q tán

(of a food's mouthfeel) springy

核弹

hé dàn

nuclear warhead

燃烧弹

rán shāo dàn

fire bomb

反舰导弹

fǎn jiàn dǎo dàn

anti-ship missile

弹奏

tán zòu

to play (musical instrument, esp. string)

霰弹枪

xiàn dàn qiāng

shotgun

肉弹

ròu dàn

suicide attacker; suicide bomber

动弹不得

dòng tan bu dé

to be unable to move a single step

弹子

tán zi

towrope

弹跳板

tán tiào bǎn

springboard

达姆弹

dá mǔ dàn

(loanword) dumdum bullet; expanding bullet

远程导弹

yuǎn chéng dǎo dàn

long distance missile

More characters with 弓

弼弟彀弘弥弭芎夷