冶 (yě) is a Chinese character meaning “to smelt metal”. It is written from 冫 (ice; two dots of ice) and 台 (platform; terrace (in 冶 it carries the sound)), side by side, and takes 7 strokes.
Build the character for “to smelt metal”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
冫 + 台
Left–right structure
- 冫 ice; two dots of ice · bīng meaning
- 台 platform; terrace (in 冶 and 苔 it carries the sound) · tái sound
Structure from: 说文解字: 冶，銷也。从仌台聲
Memory aid
Two frozen dots (冫) next to a platform (台): metal is melted on the smelting platform, then chilled hard again. Both parts really are in this character.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
7 strokes
In real words
- 冶金yě jīnmetallurgy; metal smelting冶 = yě
- 陶冶táo yěto mould; to cultivate (a person's character)冶 = yě
Go deeper
All readings
to smelt
to smelt metal; metalworking; (of appearance) seductively showy
熔炼金属；也指打扮得过分艳丽。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 冶金yě jīnmetallurgy; metal smelting冶 = yě
- 陶冶táo yěto mould; to cultivate (a person's character)冶 = yě
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 冶 mean?
冶 (yě) means to smelt metal; metalworking; (of appearance) seductively showy.
How do you pronounce 冶?
It is pronounced yě.
What parts is 冶 made of?
冫 (ice; two dots of ice) and 台 (platform; terrace (in 冶 it carries the sound)), side by side. The recorded source is: 说文解字: 冶，銷也。从仌台聲. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 冶 have?
7. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 冶?
冫. The radical is how the character is filed in a dictionary — it is not the whole story of how the character is built.
What words use 冶?
Common ones are 冶金 and 陶冶. The reading of 冶 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.