锈 (xiù): rust

锈 (xiù) is a Chinese character meaning “rust.” Classified as HSK Level 7-9 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 钅 (semantic) and 秀 (phonetic). It ranks #2893 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).

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

Native pronunciation

HSK 7-9 Radical: 钅 metal12 strokesFrequency #2893钅 semantic 秀 phonetic

Definitions

rust

Etymology & Origin

锈

pictophoneticmetal

Decomposition: ⿰钅秀 (layout: left-right)

Components:钅semantic 秀phonetic

Stroke Order

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

Words & Compounds

Common Compounds

Word	Pinyin	Meaning
生锈	shēng xiù	(of metal) to rust
不锈钢	bù xiù gāng	stainless steel
铁锈	tiě xiù	rust
防锈	fáng xiù	to prevent rust
锈迹	xiù jì	rust stain
锈斑	xiù bān	rust spot
锈蚀	xiù shí	to rust away
刀不磨要生锈，人不学要落后	dāo bù mó yào shēng xiù , rén bù xué yào luò hòu	(proverb) a blade will get rusty if it is not sharpened
永不生锈的螺丝钉	yǒng bù shēng xiù de luó sī dīng	a "screw that never rusts" – metaphor used in CCP propaganda to praise loyal, selfless contributors, famously applied...
不锈铁	bù xiù tiě	rust-resistant iron (an informal term for certain nickel-free stainless steels, usually of lower quality and less cor...
铁锈带	tiě xiù dài	Rust Belt
锈红腹旋木雀	xiù hóng fù xuán mù què	(bird species of China) rusty-flanked treecreeper (Certhia nipalensis)
锈脸钩嘴鹛	xiù liǎn gōu zuǐ méi	(bird species of China) rusty-cheeked scimitar babbler (Erythrogenys erythrogenys)
锈胸蓝姬鹟	xiù xiōng lán jī wēng	(bird species of China) slaty-backed flycatcher (Ficedula erithacus)
铜锈层	tóng xiù céng	patina

Total compounds

As first character

As last character

As middle character

锈 appears in 19 compound words: 42 as the first character, 26 as the last, and 32 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 锈 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.

钢gāng

0.6925,940 co-occurrences

蚀shí

0.583798 co-occurrences

铜tóng

0.437474 co-occurrences

涂tú

0.422186 co-occurrences

皂zào

0.41978 co-occurrences

斑bān

0.411288 co-occurrences

不bù

0.4103,992 co-occurrences

钉dīng

0.40954 co-occurrences

铝lǚ

0.40372 co-occurrences

绒róng

0.40060 co-occurrences

Example Sentences

AI-Generated

这把椅子生锈了，需要用砂纸打磨一下。

Zhè bǎ yǐzi shēngxiù le, xūyào yòng shāzhǐ dǎmó yíxià.

This chair has rusted; it needs to be sanded with sandpaper.

鉅亨網 - 財經新聞、全球指數、股市報價、商品行情、理財投資Mar 2026

...火延烧推升原物料价格华新全面调涨4月不锈钢盘价

. . . huǒ yán shāo tuī shēng yuán wù liào jià gé huá xīn quán miàn diào zhǎng 4 yuè bù xiù gāng pán jià

Tatoeba

你有除锈的东西吗？

Nǐ yǒu chú xiù de dōngxi ma?

Do you have anything to remove stains?

Character Family

Frequently Asked Questions

What does 锈 (xiù) mean in Chinese?

锈 (xiù) primarily means "rust." It is classified as HSK Level 7-9, making it an expert-level character. It ranks #2893 in character frequency.

What's the difference between 锈 and 透?

锈 (xiù) and 透 (tòu) are often confused. confusable. The key distinguishing feature: 钅 vs 辶 (same 秀 component).

How many strokes does 锈 have?

锈 is written with 12 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 锈?

The radical associated with 锈 is 钅 (metal). This radical appears in many characters related to metal.

What are the components of 锈?

锈 is composed of: 钅 (semantic), 秀 (phonetic). Its IDS decomposition is ⿰钅秀 with a left-right layout. Understanding the components helps with both memorization and recognizing related characters.

What are common words containing 锈?

Common words with 锈 include: 生锈 (shēng xiù, "(of metal) to rust"); 不锈钢 (bù xiù gāng, "stainless steel"); 铁锈 (tiě xiù, "rust"); 防锈 (fáng xiù, "to prevent rust"); 锈迹 (xiù jì, "rust stain"). There are over 19 compound words containing this character.

What characters sound the same as 锈 (xiù)?

Several characters share the pronunciation xiù: 绣 (to embroider), 休 (to rest), 修 (to decorate), 羞 (shy), and 4 more. Context and tones help distinguish between them in speech and writing.

Is 锈 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?

No. The simplified form is 锈 and the traditional form is 銹.

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