Chinese word

锡

Pronunciation

Pinyinxī

Meaning

  • nountin

Example

这个首饰是用锡做的吗？zhè ge shǒu shì shì yòng xī zuò de ma

Is this piece of jewelry made of tin?

Illustration for 锡 (tin)

More examples

工匠正在用焊锡丝修理一个锡器。gōng jiàng zhèng zài yòng hàn xī sī xiū lǐ yí gè xī qì

A craftsman is repairing a piece of tinware with solder wire.

Core concept

A workable, silvery metal valued for being soft, easy to shape, and useful in mixtures and surface coatings.

Common phrases

  • 焊锡丝hàn xī sī

    solder wire

  • 锡器xī qì

    tinware

Similar words

锌xīn: A slightly bluish-silver metal used to protect surfaces from corrosion and to make alloys.
银yín: A shiny, silvery precious metal used for jewelry and coins.
合金hé jīn: A material made by mixing two or more metals.
铜tóng: A reddish metal widely used for electrical wiring and pipes.

Definition in Chinese

一种银白色的金属元素，质地柔软且有延展性，常用于制造合金、焊料和镀层。yì zhǒng yín bái sè de jīn shǔ yuán sù zhì dì róu ruǎn qiě yǒu yán zhǎn xìng cháng yòng yú zhì zào hé jīn hàn liào hé dù céng

Word origin

锡 (xī, "tin") combines the metal marker 钅 (jīn, "metal") with 易 (yì, "change"), whose role is chiefly to suggest the pronunciation.

Usage tips

  • The English expression tin foil often refers to aluminum foil, so that phrase is not reliable evidence that a product contains the element tin.

Related words

  • 焊锡hàn xīsoldernoun
  • 锡匠xī jiàngtinsmithnoun

Word lists with this word