Dao (Chinese sword)

Dao
A Chinese dao and scabbard of the 18th century
Chinese	刀
Literal meaning	(single-edged) sword weapon with a single-edged blade knife
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin dāo Wade–Giles tao1 IPA [táʊ] Yue: Cantonese Yale Romanization dou1 IPA [tou˥]

Dao (pronunciation: [táʊ], English approximation: /daʊ/ 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".