铭

銘
míng
verb #39,681

Meanings

  1. 1 to engrave; to inscribe
  2. 2 an inscribed motto; epigraph

Examples

HSK 4
Lǎoshī de huà wǒ huì yǒngyuǎn míngjì zài xīn.
I will always keep the teacher's words in my heart.
HSK 7-9
Nà fèn ēnqíng ràng wǒ kègǔmíngxīn.
That kindness is engraved on my bones and carved in my heart.

Tips

memory
铭 is literally carving words into metal so they last. That permanence gives 铭记 (to keep firmly in mind) and 刻骨铭心 (unforgettable, carved into the bones).

Components

radical
钅 jīn
metal; gold
钅 is the metal radical 金 in its left-side form. 铭 originally meant cutting words into bronze, hence the metal radical.
phonetic
名 míng
name
名 (name) supplies the sound míng exactly, and inscribing a name onto metal fits the meaning, making it a fitting phonetic with a faint semantic echo.

Stroke Order

铭 míng