Chinese symbol for “rust”
锈
xiù
Traditional: 鏽
to rust
The closest CC-CEDICT match for rust is 锈 (xiù), defined as: to rust.
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 “rust”
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 生锈 (生鏽) | shēng xiù | (of metal) to rust; to become rusty; (fig.) (of a skill etc) to get rusty; to deteriorate |
| 铁锈 (鐵鏽) | tiě xiù | rust |
Related words
Other words that share a character with 锈.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 不锈钢 (不銹鋼) | bù xiù gāng | stainless steel |
| 生锈 (生鏽) | shēng xiù | (of metal) to rust; to become rusty; (fig.) (of a skill etc) to get rusty; to deteriorate |
| 锈蚀 (鏽蝕) | xiù shí | to rust away |
| 防锈 (防鏽) | fáng xiù | to prevent rust; to resist rusting |
| 铁锈 (鐵鏽) | tiě xiù | rust |
See also: Japanese symbol for “rust”.
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.