How to Write 锤 (chuí) — Meaning “Hammer”

Picture a heavy metal hammer (钅) that makes your arm droop down because it is so heavy. The right side 垂 looks like a drooping line, reminding you of the hammer's weight and downward motion.

Write the left radical 钅 first: three horizontal strokes with the last turning into a hook. The right side 垂 has a complex order: a short left-falling stroke, then a horizontal, a vertical, a horizontal crossing, and more strokes. Keep 垂 wide so the character is balanced.

锤 means hammer, while 铐 means handcuffs and 铑 is the metal rhodium. Visually, 锤 has 垂 on the right, 铐 has 考 (meaning "test"), and 铑 has 老 (meaning "old"). All use the metal radical, but their meanings and right sides are completely different.

锤 appears in common words like 锤子 (hammer) and 铁锤 (iron hammer). It is also used in the idiom 一锤定音, which means "to make a final decision" (like a hammer striking a gong once). Hammer tools are associated with blacksmithing and construction in Chinese culture.

Common words containing 锤 include: 锤子 (chuí zi) — Hammer; 铁锤 (tiě chuí) — iron hammer; 敲锤 (qiāo chuí) — to strike with a hammer.