Chinese symbol for “chisel”
凿
záo
Traditional: 鑿
(bound form) chisel; to bore a hole; to chisel; to dig; (literary) certain; authentic; irrefutable; also pr. [zuo4]
The closest CC-CEDICT match for chisel is 凿 (záo), defined as: (bound form) chisel; to bore a hole; to chisel; to dig; (literary) certain; authentic; irrefutable; also pr. [zuo4].
Before using these characters for a tattoo, check them with a native speaker. Dictionary words often have several meanings, and the right choice depends on context.
Characters and stroke order
Traditional forms
Other Chinese words for “chisel”
Related words
Other words that share a character with 凿.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 开凿 (開鑿) | kāi záo | to cut (a canal, tunnel, well etc) |
| 确凿 (確鑿) | què záo | definite; conclusive |
| 凿井 (鑿井) | záo jǐng | to dig a well |
| 凿子 (鑿子) | záo zi | chisel |
| 凿岩 (鑿岩) | záo yán | (rock) drilling |
| 言之凿凿 (言之鑿鑿) | yán zhī záo záo | (idiom) to speak with conviction |
See also: Japanese symbol for “chisel”.
Data: CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0); Unihan Database (Unicode License v3); Make Me a Hanzi (Arphic Public License (graphics.txt); LGPL-3.0-or-later (dictionary.txt)); wordfreq (CC BY-SA 4.0 (data)). Retrieved 2026-10-22.