Chinese symbol for “nail”
钉
dīng
Traditional: 釘
nail; to follow closely; to keep at sb (to do sth); variant of 盯 (dīng)
The closest CC-CEDICT match for nail is 钉 (dīng), defined as: nail; to follow closely; to keep at sb (to do sth); variant of 盯 (dīng).
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 “nail”
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 钉子 (釘子) | dīng zi | nail; snag |
| 甲 | jiǎ | first of the ten Heavenly Stems 十天干 (shí tiān gān); (used for an unspecified person or thing) |
Related words
Other words that share a character with 钉.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 钉子 (釘子) | dīng zi | nail; snag |
| 眼中钉 (眼中釘) | yǎn zhōng dīng | a thorn in one's side |
| 斩钉截铁 (斬釘截鐵) | zhǎn dīng jié tiě | (lit.) to chop the nail and slice the iron (idiom); (fig.) resolute and decisive; unhesitating; categorical |
| 铆钉 (鉚釘) | mǎo dīng | rivet |
| 螺钉 (螺釘) | luó dīng | screw |
| 螺丝钉 (螺絲釘) | luó sī dīng | screw |
See also: Japanese symbol for “nail”.
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.