How to Write 殸 (qìng) — Meaning “sound of striking a stone; ancient musical instrument”

Imagine a musician using a mallet (殳) to strike a stone bell, which then produces a beautiful sound (声). The image of hitting an ancient instrument to make a ringing tone helps link the parts to the meaning.

Write the top part 声 first (7 strokes), then the bottom 殳 (4 strokes). A common mistake is to make the top too wide or to confuse the last stroke of 声 with the first stroke of 殳. Keep the strokes balanced and the whole character compact.

段 has a left side that looks like 亻 with a short top stroke, while 殷 has a left side that resembles 㐆 (a person bending). In contrast, 殸 has 声 on top. Visually, 段 and 殷 both use 殳 on the right, but their left parts are completely different from 殸's top.

殸 is a very old character, not used in modern HSK vocabulary. It appears in classical texts or when discussing ancient Chinese musical instruments like the stone chime. For example, 钟殸 refers to the set of bronze bells and stone chimes used in ritual music.

Common words containing 殸 include: 殸声 (qìng shēng) — the sound of striking; 殸欬 (qìng kài) — sound of coughing or clearing the throat; 钟殸 (zhōng qìng) — Bell and chime.