How to Write 汀 (tīng) — Meaning “Sandbar; islet; beach”

Imagine a small island shaped like a nail (丁) sticking out of the water (氵). This visual of a nail-like sandbar surrounded by water helps link the character's components to its meaning 'islet' or 'sandbar'.

When writing 汀, make sure the water radical 氵on the left is written with three dots, not two or four. The right part 丁 should be about the same height as the left radical, and its vertical stroke should be straight and slightly below the horizontal stroke. A common mistake is making the 丁 too small or misaligning the dots.

汀 (tīng) has the water radical with 丁 on the right, meaning 'sandbar'. 㳄 (xián) has water with a modified 欠 (to owe/yawning) and is a rare ancient character meaning 'spit' or 'saliva'. 氿 (guǐ) has water with 九 (nine) and means 'spring water flowing from mountain crevices'. The different right-side components change both meaning and pronunciation.

汀 is used in place names and poetic descriptions of natural landscapes, often referring to small islands or sandbars in rivers or lakes. For example, 沙汀 (shā tīng) means 'sandbar' and appears in literary works about water scenery. While not common in daily conversation, it evokes a tranquil, scenic image in classical poetry and modern nature writing.

Common words containing 汀 include: 汀洲 (tīng zhōu) — Islet; sandbar; 沙汀 (shā tīng) — Sandbar; 绿汀 (lǜ tīng) — green islet.