砥 meaning and stroke order
Whetstone; to polish
How to write 砥, stroke by stroke
10 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
- 1
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- 10
Meaning of 砥
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- baffle (pier)
- whetstone
How 砥 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Stone.
石 gives the meaning and 氐 hints at the sound.
Radical: 石 (stone), shared by 114 characters on this site.
How to remember 砥
The stone radical 石 on the left tells you this is a stone, and 氐 (dǐ) on the right gives the sound dǐ. Picture a flat stone you rub a blade against to sharpen and polish it.
砥 is rarely used alone in modern Chinese. It mostly appears in set phrases like 砥砺 (dǐlì), meaning to sharpen or to temper oneself through hardship. Example: 他们在困难中互相砥砺。(Tāmen zài kùnnan zhōng hùxiāng dǐlì.) They spurred each other on through hard times.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 砥 with 抵 (dǐ, to resist or arrive) and 底 (dǐ, bottom), which share the same sound and the same 氐 part. Remember that only 砥 has the stone radical 石, because it is about a whetstone.
Questions about 砥
How many strokes are in 砥?
砥 is written with 10 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 砥 mean?
砥 (dǐ) means whetstone; to polish.
How do you pronounce 砥?
砥 is pronounced dǐ, in the third tone (dipping).
What is the radical of 砥?
The radical of 砥 is 石, which carries the idea of "stone". Dictionaries list 砥 under this radical.
What does the idiom 中流砥柱 mean?
中流砥柱 (zhōngliú dǐzhù) literally means a rock pillar standing firm in the middle of a rushing river. It describes a person or group that holds things together in a crisis, like a pillar of strength. This connects to the dictionary sense of a pier or baffle that stands against the water.
Is the 氐 in 砥 the same as 氏?
No. 氐 has an extra short stroke at the bottom compared with 氏 (shì). Leaving out that bottom dot is a common handwriting slip, so check it when you write 砥.