How to Write 镦 (duì) — Meaning “Upset (metalworking)”

Think of a blacksmith shouting "Dway!" as he pounds a metal rod to make it thicker. The left side 钅 looks like a metal piece, and the right side 敦 can be imagined as a hammer hitting the metal. This connects the sound duì to the action of upsetting.

Pay attention to the left radical 钅: it has a small hook at the bottom of the vertical stroke. On the right side, 敦 has a balanced layout with 亠 and 口 on top, 攵 on the lower left, and 子 on the lower right—make sure 子 is not too large. A common mistake is mixing up the order of strokes in the 攵 section.

镦 (duì) refers specifically to upsetting metal, while 镆 (mò) is a rare character used in the name of an ancient sword (镆铘). 镇 (zhèn) means 'to press down' or 'town' and is much more common. Visually, 镦 has 敦 on the right, 镆 has 莫, and 镇 has 真.

镦 is a technical character used in metalworking and engineering, such as in the terms 镦粗 (upsetting) and 镦锻 (upset forging). It is not part of everyday language and is mainly found in textbooks or workshops. In traditional Chinese blacksmithing, upsetting was a key skill for making tool heads stronger.

Common words containing 镦 include: 镦粗 (duì cū) — Upsetting (thickening metal); 镦头 (duì tóu) — Upsetting (forming a head); 镦锻 (duì duàn) — Upset forging.