铁tiě
Character evolution
铁
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Simplified · Today
繁体
Traditional Chinese
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Shuowen
Iron. The character combines the metal radical 钅 (or 金 in traditional form) with the phonetic component 失 (or 轍), denoting the hard, dark metal. The radical signals its metallic nature, while the phonetic element provides the pronunciation, a common method for creating characters for newly known materials. Since iron was not used in the Shang dynasty, the character does not appear in oracle bone inscriptions but first appears in bronze inscriptions from the Warring States period.
Pinyin
tiě· HSK 1