How to Write 砒 (pī) — Meaning “arsenic”

Think of a stone (石) that is 'pī' — like a sharp 'peep' of danger — because arsenic is a poisonous mineral. You can imagine a warning sign on a rock saying "Poison!" with the sound 'pee' to match the pinyin. The right side 比 looks like two people comparing, but remember they are comparing dangerous stones.

Write the left radical 石 first: horizontal stroke, then left-falling stroke, horizontal, vertical, and a small horizontal mouth. Then write the right part 比: start with a horizontal stroke on top, then a vertical stroke, next a horizontal stroke, and finally two short strokes (like a '匕' shape). A common mistake is making the right side look like 北 (north) — remember 比 has a flat top and no extra stroke.

砒 (arsenic) uses the phonetic component 比 and means a poisonous mineral. 矶 (pīng? Actually 矶 is jī, meaning a rock or jetty) has the phonetic 几, and 矸 (gān) means ore or waste rock with phonetic 干. Visually, the right side differs: 砒 has 比, 矶 has 几 (a simple table-like shape), and 矸 has 干 (a dry character). Their meanings are distinct — only 砒 is related to poison.

砒 is most commonly used in the compound 砒霜 (pī shuāng), which means arsenic trioxide — a famous poison in Chinese history and literature. It appears in historical stories and traditional medicine contexts, but it is rarely used in daily conversation due to its dangerous nature. Modern Chinese speakers know it mainly from crime dramas or classical novels like Water Margin.

Common words containing 砒 include: 砒霜 (pī shuāng) — Arsenic trioxide; 砒毒 (pī dú) — Arsenic poison; 砒石 (pī shí) — Arsenic ore.