(duàn): to forge, to discipline, wrought

(duàn) is a Chinese character meaning “to forge.” Classified as HSK Level 3 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of (semantic) and (phonetic). It ranks #2440 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).

Etymologically derived, metal. Its radical form (metal) appears in many related characters such as (qián, money), (cuò, wrong, mistake), (zhōng, clock, bell).

Native pronunciation

Definitions

  1. to forge
  2. to discipline
  3. wrought

Etymology & Origin

pictophoneticmetal

Decomposition: ⿰钅段 (layout: left-right)

Stroke Order

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14

Practice writing with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.

Words & Compounds

HSK Vocabulary with

WordPinyinMeaningHSK
verbduàn liànto toughen3

Common Compounds

WordPinyinMeaning
duàn zàoto forge (metal)
tǐ yù duàn liànphysical exercise
duàn tiěwrought iron
4
Total compounds
75
As first character
0
As last character
25
As middle character

appears in 4 compound words: 75 as the first character, 0 as the last, and 25 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.

Strongest Collocations

Characters that most frequently co-occur with in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.

liàn
0.8068,248 co-occurrences
zhù
0.488474 co-occurrences
gāng
0.462606 co-occurrences
0.448222 co-occurrences
zào
0.4423,096 co-occurrences
0.424108 co-occurrences
láo
0.416486 co-occurrences
hàn
0.41084 co-occurrences
0.405528 co-occurrences
guà
0.396198 co-occurrences

Example Sentences

AI-Generated

这把锁已经生锈了,打不开了。

zhè bǎ duàn suǒ yǐ jīng shēng xiù le , dǎ bù kāi le .

This forged lock has rusted shut and won't open.

上海有色网Mar 2026

造钢球等项目采购招标公告

duàn zào gāng qiú děng xiàng mù cǎi gòu zhāo biāo gōng gào

Procurement Tender Notice for Forged Steel Balls and Other Items

99 健康网Mar 2026

...下垂的治疗方法有哪些?轻度脱垂首选盆底肌炼吗

. . . xià chuí de zhì liáo fāng fǎ yǒu nǎ xiē ? qīng dù tuō chuí shǒu xuǎn pén de jī duàn liàn ma

... What are the treatments for sagging? Is pelvic floor muscle exercise preferred for mild prolapse?

99 健康网Mar 2026

双男张腿憋尿勒肚子小腹凸的能炼核心吗?不推荐以此方式训练

shuāng nán zhāng tuǐ biē niào lè dù zǐ xiǎo fù tū de néng duàn liàn hé xīn ma ? bù tuī jiàn yǐ cǐ fāng shì xùn liàn

Can the "double-leg spread, holding in urine, and tightening the abdomen" exercise—where the lower abdomen protrudes—help strengthen the core? This method is not recommended for training.

東方日報Feb 2026

532炼法 打造黄金比例美腿

5 3 2 duàn liàn fǎ dǎ zào huáng jīn bǐ lì měi tuǐ

532 workout method to create beautiful legs in the golden ratio

99 健康网Feb 2026

老年人铁裆功最简单处理方法靠谱吗?传统炼法有科学依据吗

lǎo nián rén tiě 裆 gōng zuì jiǎn dān chǔ lǐ fāng fǎ kào pǔ ma ? chuán tǒng duàn liàn fǎ yǒu kē xué yī jù ma

Is the easiest way to deal with iron crotch skills for the elderly reliable? Is there a scientific basis for traditional exercise?

Tatoeba

住在大城市的人们一般都缺乏炼。

Zhù zài dàchéngshì de rénmen yībān dōu quēfá duànliàn.

People living in a big city tend to lack exercise.

Tatoeba

炼时扭伤了脚踝。

Tā duànliàn shí niǔ shāng le jiǎohuái.

She twisted her ankle while she was doing exercise.

Tatoeba

我需要更经常地炼。

Wǒ xūyào gèng jīngcháng de duànliàn.

I need to exercise more often.

Tatoeba

我姐姐为了减肥每天都炼。

Wǒ jiějie wèile jiǎnféi měitiān dōu duàn liàn.

My older sister exercises every day to lose weight.

Character Family

Homophones — Characters pronounced duàn

Frequently Asked Questions

What does 锻 (duàn) mean in Chinese?
锻 (duàn) primarily means "to forge." It is classified as HSK Level 3, making it a beginner-level character. It ranks #2440 in character frequency.
How many strokes does 锻 have?
锻 is written with 14 strokes. The correct stroke order matters for recognition and handwriting speed — practice with the animated guide above to build proper technique.
What is the radical of 锻?
The radical associated with 锻 is 钅 (metal). This radical appears in many characters related to metal.
What are the components of 锻?
锻 is composed of: 钅 (semantic), 段 (phonetic). Its IDS decomposition is ⿰钅段 with a left-right layout. Understanding the components helps with both memorization and recognizing related characters.
What are common words containing 锻?
Common words with 锻 include: 锻炼 (duàn liàn, "to toughen"); 锻造 (duàn zào, "to forge (metal)"); 体育锻炼 (tǐ yù duàn liàn, "physical exercise"); 锻铁 (duàn tiě, "wrought iron"). There are over 4 compound words containing this character.
What characters sound the same as 锻 (duàn)?
Several characters share the pronunciation duàn: 端 ((bound form) tip), 短 (short), 段 (paragraph), 断 (to break). Context and tones help distinguish between them in speech and writing.
Is 锻 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Yes, 锻 is written the same way in both simplified and traditional Chinese.

Practice writing with real-time feedback

Trace stroke sequences, hear native pronunciation, and build lasting retention with spaced repetition in the HanziFeed app.

Character data sourced from Unihan (Unicode Consortium), SUBTLEX-CH frequency corpus (Cai & Brysbaert, 2010), and Make Me a Hanzi (stroke data). Collocation strength measured via NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information). Verified by the HanziFeed linguistics team.

HSK classification follows the HSK 3.0 Standard (Center for Language Education and Cooperation, CLEC, 2022 revision). Idiom data from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).

Data last verified: March 2026.