锡 (xī): tin (the metal)

Meanings

1 tin (the metal)
2 pewter

Characters

锡

xī

tin

Examples

锡是一种常见的金属。

Xī shì yī zhǒng chángjiàn de jīnshǔ.

Tin is a common metal.

这个罐子是锡做的。

Zhègè guànzi shì xī zuò de.

This can is made of tin.

云南是中国最大的产锡地区。

Yúnnán shì Zhōngguó zuì dà de chǎn xī dìqū.

Yunnan is China's largest tin-producing region.

Tips

memory

锡 has the metal radical 钅on the left. The right side 易 (yì, easy) hints at the sound. Tin is a soft, easy-to-work metal.

Components

radical

钅 jīn

metal; gold (radical form)

Metal radical on the left, the indexing component and a contracted form of 金. It marks 锡 as a specific metal in the periodic-table sense, alongside 铁 iron, 铜 copper, 铅 lead, 银 silver, 钢 steel. Almost every metal element name uses this radical, making the family easy to scan.

phonetic

易 yì

easy; to change

Right side 易 yì supplies the sound with a regular shift yì → xī (an old palatalisation). The same phonetic appears in 赐 bestow, 蜴 lizard, 踢 kick — sharing the xi/ti/ci initial group. Pure phonetic role, no semantic carryover from 'easy'.