Chinese character 磞

It means “strike stone”; 磞硠 names a loud crashing sound.

A Chinese dictionary called 《玉篇》, compiled in 543, glosses it as “擊石” (“strike stone”). That early gloss ties the character to impact and noise.

Qing-era manuscripts of the novel 《红楼梦》 (Dream of the Red Chamber), written in spoken-style Chinese, use 磞 where later printed editions use 碰. After the Cheng-Gao editions, 碰 became the settled spelling and 磞 receded from ordinary use.

Someone sent me 磞—what does it mean?

Treat it as a rare historical or variant character.

If it arrives alone, ask which word the sender intended. In a historical quotation or a discussion of Chinese characters, the spelling may be deliberate; the surrounding phrase helps identify what it means.

Is 磞 an old form of 碰?

Sometimes; it is a historical variant, not a general replacement.

In some historical passages, 磞 appears where a later text has 碰, meaning “bump” or “meet.” Use 碰 in routine Chinese; keep 磞 when preserving an older passage or discussing the variant.