How to Write 玎 (dīng) — Meaning “Jingling sound (of jade)”

Think of a piece of jade (王) hitting a small "ding" bell (丁) and making a tinkling sound. The shape of 丁 also looks like a small hanging bell, so you can imagine the jade bell gently chiming: "dīng—玎."

Write the left side 王 first with three horizontal strokes from top to bottom, then a vertical stroke through them. Then write the right side 丁 as a horizontal stroke followed by a vertical hook. Be careful that the 丁 component is not too wide — it should align vertically with the middle of 王, and the hook should curve slightly left.

王 (wáng) means "king" and has no extra component, while 玎 has 丁 added on the right. 玑 (jī) also has the jade radical but uses 几 instead of 丁, meaning a jade ornament or a type of pearl. Visually, 玎 is taller with a hook on the right, while 玑 is more balanced with a curved 几.

玎 is rarely used alone today; it mainly appears in compound onomatopoeic words like 玎玲 (dīng líng) or 玎当 (dīng dāng) to describe the tinkling of jade or small metal objects. It is more common in classical poetry or literary descriptions where a delicate, musical sound is evoked, and it is not part of the HSK vocabulary.

Common words containing 玎 include: 玎玲 (dīng líng) — tinkling of jade; 玎当 (dīng dāng) — jingle; clink; 玎玎 (dīng dīng) — tinkling sound.