How to Write 镗 (tāng) — Meaning “to bore (a hole)”

Imagine a large metal hall (堂) where workers use a powerful drill to bore holes (镗) into steel beams. The sound of the drill is a loud 'tāng tāng' clanging, which matches the character's pronunciation and meaning.

Pay special attention to the right side 堂: the top part ❼ (a small radical like 'small' on top of a mouth) should be compact, and the bottom 土 must be written with the horizontal stroke longer than the top one. The left radical 钅 has a narrow shape, and the whole character should be balanced width-wise.

镗 (tāng) means 'to bore a hole' and contains 堂 on the right. 锲 (qiè) means 'to carve' or 'to engrave' and has 契 on the right (with a different top part). 锴 (kǎi) means 'good quality iron' and uses 皆 on the right. Visually, 镗's right side has a 'mouth' under a crown, while 锲 has a 'big' and 'knife' radical, and 锴 has 'compare' radical.

镗 is a technical term used mainly in mechanical engineering and machining. It appears in words like 镗床 (boring machine) and 镗孔 (boring a hole), referring to the process of enlarging or finishing a hole with a rotating cutting tool. You are unlikely to encounter it in everyday conversation, but it is important in industrial contexts.

Common words containing 镗 include: 镗床 (tāng chuáng) — boring machine; 镗孔 (tāng kǒng) — boring a hole; 镗镗 (tāng tāng) — clanging sound.