What semantic role does ⺉/刀(sword/cut) tend to have in Kanji?


判 Has the phonetic component 半, but why the semantic component knife?

刊 has the phonetic component 干, but why the semantic component knife?

剛 has the phonetic part 岡, but why the semantic component knife?

I've seen more of these. With 雨 (rain) it often seems to indicate it has to do
with weather, with 貝 (shell) it indicates it has to do with money, so does ⺉/刀
also have such an overarching thing that isnt literally cutting, or is it one
of those cases where it's different shit per character or the character just
went through simplifications?




For this, you'll have to look at the original meaning of the those three
characters to see their relation with 刀.

  * [判 originally meant](http://www.guoxuedashi.com/kangxi/pic.php?f=ziyuanlxq&p=376) to divide up, presumably with a knife.
  * [刊 originally meant](http://www.guoxuedashi.com/kangxi/pic.php?f=ziyuanlxq&p=376) to use a knife to cut off the outer skin
  * [The definition of 剛 was originally](http://www.zdic.net/z/16/kx/521A.htm) 彊斷也。从刀，岡聲, meaning strong. According to [林义光](http://www.guoxuedashi.com/kangxi/pic.php?f=dzd&p=377), this can be explained as using a knife to cut a net/web. This meaning seems to not have changed too much.

As is typical with Chinese characters, their meanings change over time. Often,
they become more generalized or applied to similar situations. 刊 for example
from the meaning of cutting off the outer skin became applied to carving, and
from carving onto typesetting/printing (think carving printing blocks!).

