锭 (dìng) · ingot, spindle, pressed cake (of medicine or ink)

Meanings

1 ingot
2 spindle
3 pressed cake (of medicine or ink)
4 tablet

Characters

锭

dìng

ingot; spindle; tablet

Examples

HSK 6

古代用金锭和银锭交易。

Gǔdài yòng jīn dìng hé yín dìng jiāoyì.

In ancient times, gold and silver ingots were used for trade.

HSK 7-9

他买了一锭墨。

Tā mǎi le yí dìng mò.

He bought a stick of ink.

Tips

usage

锭 serves as both a noun (ingot/spindle) and a measure word for ingot-shaped items: 一锭金 (one gold ingot), 一锭墨 (one ink stick).

culture

Silver ingots (银锭, especially the boat-shaped 元宝) were the primary currency of imperial China and are still burned as offerings to ancestors during funerals and Qingming Festival.

Components

radical

钅 jīn

metal; gold (radical form of 金)

Left-side metal radical - the 5-stroke compressed form of 金. Indexing radical, putting 锭 in the cast-and-forged family (银 silver, 钢 steel, 钉 nail, 链 chain). Carries the core meaning: an ingot or tablet of cast metal. Also extended to medicinal pellets and any pill-shaped lump.

phonetic

定 dìng

fixed; settle

Right 定 supplies the sound - dìng straight through, no drift. The 'fixed / settled' meaning of 定 doubles as a faint semantic hint: an ingot is metal cast into a fixed, settled shape, then weighed and used as currency. Historical usage 元宝 silver ingots were called 银锭. Same phonetic family: 锭 itself, 啶 (chemistry suffix).