How to Write 磬 (qìng) — Meaning “chime stone (ancient musical instrument)”

Imagine a stone (石) that produces a beautiful sound (声) when hit with a mallet (殳). The pinyin qìng sounds like 'ching,' the noise a chime stone makes when struck.

Write the top part 殸 first (11 strokes), then the bottom part 石 (5 strokes). Be careful not to place 石 on the left; it must be under 殸. A common mistake is making the top too wide – keep it compact so the character stays balanced vertically.

磬 has 石 at the bottom, while 碟 and 碡 have 石 on the left. 碟 (dié) means 'plate' and 碡 (dú) means 'stone roller,' both common objects, but 磬 is a rare ancient musical instrument. Also note that 碟 uses 枼 (leaf) and 碡 uses 毒 (poison) on the right, completely different from 磬's top part.

磬 is rarely used in daily conversation; it appears mainly in historical or classical texts about ancient Chinese music. Culturally, 编磬 (bianqing) were important in Confucian court rituals and are often seen in museums, representing early Chinese musical sophistication.

Common words containing 磬 include: 磬声 (qìng shēng) — the sound of a chime stone; 击磬 (jī qìng) — to strike a chime stone; 编磬 (biān qìng) — bianqing (ancient stone chimes).