How to Write 铧 (huá) — Meaning “Plowshare”

Imagine a plowshare shaped like a shiny metal flower (华 can mean "flower" in some contexts). The metal radical 钅 reminds you it is a tool, and the flower shape helps you recall the sound "huá."

First write the left radical 钅: three short horizontal strokes, then a vertical hook. Then on the right, write 华: start with a left-falling stroke, then a horizontal, then a vertical through the center, followed by left-falling and right-falling strokes, and finally a second horizontal. A common mistake is to reverse the order of the vertical and the first horizontal in 华.

All three have the metal radical 钅, but their right parts differ: 铧 has 华 (meaning "splendid"), 钙 has 丐 (gài), and 钚 has 不 (bù). 钙 and 钚 are names of chemical elements (calcium and plutonium), while 铧 is a farming tool. Visually, 华 is more complex with multiple strokes.

铧 appears mainly in agricultural contexts, such as the word 铧犁 (moldboard plow), and is used when talking about plowing or farming equipment. It is uncommon in daily conversation and not part of the HSK vocabulary, so you will mostly see it in manuals, historical texts, or rural settings.

Common words containing 铧 include: 铧犁 (huá lí) — Moldboard plow; 铧头 (huá tóu) — Plowshare head; 铧尖 (huá jiān) — Tip of a plowshare.