How to Write 铵 (ǎn) — Meaning “Ammonium”

Imagine a 'peaceful' (安) metal (钅) that sits quietly in fertilizers — this is ammonium. You can think of the 安 as 'safe' and 钅 as 'metal', so 铵 is a safe metal-like substance used in farming. The peace sign (安) helps you recall the pronunciation 'ǎn' since it sounds similar to the beginning of 'ammonium'.

The left radical 钅 must be written narrow and tall, with the final horizontal stroke slightly angled upward. The right part 安 has a 'roof' (宀) that should cover the 女 below, and the bottom 女 must be balanced and not too wide. A common mistake is making the 钅 too wide or misaligning the two halves — keep them close together without touching.

铵 (ǎn) means 'ammonium' and is used in chemistry, while 钙 (gài) means 'calcium' and 钚 (bù) means 'plutonium'. Visually, 铵 has 安 on the right, 钙 has 丐 (gài), and 钚 has 不 (bù). All share the 钅 radical, so focus on the right-side component to tell them apart — 安 (peace) for ammonium, 丐 (beggar) for calcium, and 不 (no) for plutonium.

铵 appears mainly in scientific and agricultural contexts, such as in words like 铵盐 (ǎn yán, 'ammonium salt'), 硫酸铵 (liú suān ǎn, 'ammonium sulfate'), and 氯化铵 (lǜ huà ǎn, 'ammonium chloride'). These compounds are common in fertilizers and industrial chemicals. You will rarely see 铵 in everyday conversation — it is a specialized character for chemistry and farming.

Common words containing 铵 include: 铵盐 (ǎn yán) — Ammonium salt; 硫酸铵 (liú suān ǎn) — ammonium sulfate; 氯化铵 (lǜ huà ǎn) — Ammonium chloride.