How to Write 燧 (suì) — Meaning “Flint / Fire-making tool”

Imagine the left side 火 as fire, and the right side 遂 as 'sui' sounding like 'squeeze' — picture squeezing a flint stone hard to produce a spark that lights a fire. This visual of striking flint to get fire links the components together.

Pay special attention to the right component 遂: it has nine strokes and includes the radical 辶 (walk) at the bottom, which must be written last. A common mistake is to make the top part of 遂 too wide or to confuse the left side 火 with the similar 灬 (fire bottom) — ensure the left radical is the horizontal 火 shape.

燧 (suì) specifically refers to flint or fire-making tools, focusing on the method of creating fire. 煽 (shān) means to fan or incite, using 火 with 扇 (fan) as a phonetic, while 熄 (xī) means to extinguish, combining 火 with 息 (rest). Visually, 燧 has the complex right side 遂, while 煽 and 熄 have simpler right components.

燧 is not common in everyday conversation but appears in formal or historical terms like 燧石 (flint) and 燧人氏 (Suiren, the legendary fire discoverer). It is also used in the word 烽燧 (beacon fire), referring to ancient signal towers. Its usage is largely literary or specialized, not HSK vocabulary.

Common words containing 燧 include: 燧石 (suì shí) — flint; 燧人氏 (suì rén shì) — Suiren (legendary figure who discovered fire); 烽燧 (fēng suì) — beacon fire and smoke.