How to Write 硎 (xíng) — Meaning “Whetstone”

Imagine a sharpening stone (石) that makes a scraping sound "xíng" as you rub a knife against it. The right side 刑 looks like a knife (刂) beside a stone, reinforcing the idea of sharpening.

Write the left radical 石 first (narrower), then the right part 刑 which has two components: first 开 (with three strokes: horizontal, horizontal, vertical) then 刂 (vertical hook, right stroke). Keep the left and right balanced in height; a common mistake is making the right side too wide or misordering the strokes in 刑.

硎 (xíng) means a whetstone for sharpening, while 砂 (shā) means sand or small stone particles. 砉 (huā or xū) describes a slicing sound. Visually, 硎 has 刑 on the right, 砂 has 少 (small), and 砉 has 聿 (brush) — each gives a different meaning and pronunciation.

硎 is rarely used alone today. It appears mostly in ancient texts or place names like 硎谷 (Xíng Gǔ, a valley in history). It also occurs in the idiom 新硎初试 (newly sharpened whetstone first used), meaning a fresh attempt at something.

Common words containing 硎 include: 硎谷 (xíng gǔ) — Xing Valley; 磨硎 (mó xíng) — sharpen on a whetstone; 硎石 (xíng shí) — Whetstone.