A sickle is a hand tool for cutting: a short wooden handle and a curved metal blade shaped like a hook or a thin moon. You hold the plants with one hand, swing the sickle with the other, and the curve gathers the stalks in as it cuts. Farmers used it for thousands of years to harvest wheat and rice and to cut long grass for animals, and it is still used today in small fields and gardens, in Taiwan too.

A sickle鐮刀 is是 a hand tool for cutting一種用來割東西的手工具: a short wooden handle一根短木柄 and a curved metal blade shaped like a hook or a thin moon加上一片彎得像鉤子或細月牙的金屬刀刃。You你 hold the plants with one hand一手抓著作物, swing the sickle with the other另一手揮動鐮刀, and而 the curve那個彎度 gathers the stalks in as it cuts會在割的同時把莖桿聚攏過來。Farmers農民 used it for thousands of years用了它好幾千年, to harvest wheat and rice來收割小麥和稻米 and to cut long grass for animals也用來割長草餵動物, and而且 it它 is still used today今天仍在使用, in small fields and gardens在小塊田地和菜園裡, in Taiwan too台灣也是。

Keep it apart from a scythe: a scythe has a long handle and a long blade, you use it standing up with both hands, and it cuts much faster. The sickle is the small one you use bent over.

Keep it apart from a scythe要把它和scythe（大鐮刀）分開: a scythe大鐮刀 has a long handle and a long blade有長柄和長刀刃, you你 use it standing up with both hands是站著、用雙手使用的, and而且 it它 cuts much faster割得快得多。The sickle鐮刀 is是 the small one you use bent over是你彎著腰用的那把小的。

Because it was the tool of ordinary farm workers, it became a political symbol — the hammer and sickle on the Soviet flag meant factory workers and farm workers together — so in English writing the word often points to communism, or to old rural life, more than to the tool itself.

Because it was the tool of ordinary farm workers因為它是普通農工用的工具, it它 became a political symbol變成了一種政治象徵 — the hammer and sickle on the Soviet flag蘇聯國旗上的鐵鎚和鐮刀 meant factory workers and farm workers together代表工人和農民團結在一起 — so所以, in English writing在英文寫作裡, the word這個字 often points to communism常常指向共產主義, or to old rural life或早期的鄉村生活, more than to the tool itself而不是那個工具本身。

It also gives us the adjective in "sickle cell anaemia", a blood illness named because the red blood cells bend into that same curved shape. The moon can be called a sickle moon when it is a thin curve.

It它 also gives us也給了我們 the adjective in "sickle cell anaemia,""sickle cell anaemia"（鐮刀型貧血）裡的那個形容詞, a blood illness一種血液疾病, named因此得名 because the red blood cells bend into that same curved shape因為紅血球會彎成同樣的弧形。The moon月亮 can be called a sickle moon可以被稱為sickle moon（鐮月）, when it is a thin curve當它是一道細細的弧形時。