How to Write 锑 (tī) — Meaning “Antimony”

Imagine a younger brother (弟) holding a gold bar (钅) that is actually made of antimony — a shiny but brittle metal. The phrase 'brother's fake gold' can remind you that antimony looks like metal but behaves differently.

Write the radical 钅 first with its three horizontal strokes close together, then the left side of 弟 begins with a dot and a left-falling stroke. A common mistake is making the 钅 radical too wide — it should be narrow so the right side has enough space.

钰 (yù) means 'treasure' and uses 玉 (jade) on the right, while 钱 (qián) means 'money/coin' and uses 戋 (small). In contrast, 锑 uses 弟 on the right and specifically refers to the chemical element antimony, not jade or coins.

锑 is used mainly in scientific and industrial contexts, such as in chemistry textbooks or mining reports for antimony ore (锑矿). It is not a common daily-life character and appears mostly when discussing flame retardants, alloys (锑合金), or the periodic table.

Common words containing 锑 include: 锑矿 (tī kuàng) — Antimony ore; 锑合金 (tī hé jīn) — Antimony alloy; 锑粉 (tī fěn) — Antimony powder.