What does 刀 mean?
刀 is a Japanese noun meaning “sword, saber” in English. It can also be translated as “scalpel, chisel, knife money (knife-shaped commodity money used in ancient China)” depending on context. It is written as 刀 in kanji, かたな in hiragana, and katana in romaji. This word is part of JLPT N3 vocabulary.
Example sentence
「刀の投擲の練習？」「すっぽ抜けただけです」
"Practising sword throwing?" "It just slipped out of my hands."