Dao

Single-edged Chinese sword primarily used for slashing and chopping

刀 · 中国刀 · 도

Type

saber, Chinese sword

Dao (pronunciation: [táʊ], English approximation: dow, Chinese: 刀; pinyin: dāo; jyutping: dou1) are single-edged Chinese swords, primarily used for slashing and chopping. They can be straight or curved. The most common form is also known as the Chinese sabre, although those with wider blades are sometimes referred to as Chinese broadswords. In China, the dao is considered one of the four traditional weapons, along with the gun (stick or staff), qiang (spear), and the jian (double-edged sword), called in this group "The General of Weapons".

Types of Dao

• Butterfly sword
• Piandao

External links

• Wikipedia
• Wikidata

Facts from Wikidata Q650169 (CC0); quoted introduction from English Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Data retrieved 2026-10-22.

Data: Wikidata (CC0 1.0); Wikipedia (English) (CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.