钉
dìng · HSK 7
nail
📌 Metal 金 that goes ding — a nail hit by a hammer
Left radical 金 means metal, right side 丁 gives the sound ding. A metal nail goes ding when struck by a hammer — sound and meaning locked together.
钉 — metal radical 钅 + 丁
Originally 丁 alone depicted a nail head viewed from above, a pictograph of a nail. As 丁 took on other meanings, the metal radical 钅 was added to specify the metal object, giving 钉 'nail.' 丁 also supplies the sound (dīng/dìng).