铭

銘

míng

名 + 钅

Definitions

míng (verb) to engrave; inscribe

míng (noun) inscription; motto

Etymology

To carve 钅 one's name 名; 名 also provides the pronunciation

About

铭 is a phono-semantic compound. Its left-side metal radical 钅 (jīn) provides the semantic category, while the right-side component 名 (míng) gives its phonetic sound. The traditional form is 銘, using the full metal radical 金. The original meaning refers to engraving text onto metal objects like bronze vessels or weapons. As these inscriptions recorded important events, honored ancestors, or established moral maxims, the meaning extended metaphorically to signify remembering something firmly or keeping a permanent mental record.

Etymology Hide

Bronze Early Warring States (~400 BC)

Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)

Clerical Western Han dynasty (202 BC-9 AD)

Clerical Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)

Traditional Modern

Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

墓碑上刻着铭文。

Mùbēi shàng kèzhe míngwén.

There is an inscription engraved on the tombstone.

我铭记老师的教诲。

Wǒ míngjì lǎoshī de jiàohuì.

I remember the teacher's teachings.

工匠铭刻了获奖者的名字。

Gōngjiàng míngkèle huòjiǎng zhě de míngzì.

The artisan engraved the winner's name.

这些青铜器上的铭文非常古老。

Zhèxiē qīngtóngqì shàng de míngwén fēicháng gǔlǎo.

The inscriptions on these bronze vessels are very ancient.

那次旅行让我铭记终生。

Nà cì lǚxíng ràng wǒ míngjì zhōngshēng.

That trip made me remember it for life.

如果你铭记失败的原因，就能避免再犯。

Rúguǒ nǐ míngjì shībài de yuányīn, jiù néng bìmiǎn zàifàn.

If you remember the reason for failure, you can avoid repeating it.

尽管过去了多年，那感人的一幕仍铭刻在我记忆中。

Jǐnguǎn guòqùle duō nián, nà gǎnrén de yīmù réng míngkè zài wǒ jìyì zhōng.

Even though many years have passed, that touching scene is still engraved in my memory.

通过对古代铭文的解读，历史学家重构了当时的社会结构。

Tōngguò duì gǔdài míngwén de jiědú, lìshǐ xuéjiā chónggòule dāngshí de shèhuì jiégòu.

Through the interpretation of ancient inscriptions, historians reconstructed the social structure of that time.

Related Characters

Component: 名

Component: 钅

铭