金

金 U+91D1, 金 CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-91D1 ← 釐 [U+91D0] CJK Unified Ideographs 釒 → [U+91D2]

⾦ U+2FA6, ⾦ KANGXI RADICAL GOLD ← ⾥ [U+2FA5] Kangxi Radicals ⾧ → [U+2FA7]

金 U+F90A, 金 CJK COMPATIBILITY IDEOGRAPH-F90A ← 契 [U+F909] CJK Compatibility Ideographs 喇 → [U+F90B]

Stroke order

Stroke order

• 釒 / 钅 (when used as a left Chinese radical)

金 (Kangxi radical 167, 金+0, 8 strokes, cangjie input 金 (C), four-corner 8010₉, composition ⿱𫢉䒑)

1. Kangxi radical #167, ⾦.

• Appendix:Chinese radical/金
• 凎, 唫, 崯, 惍, 捦, 淦, 琻, 碒, 䘳, 䋮, 趛, 崟, 菳, 蓥, 㕋, 㾣, 䦦, 淾

• Kangxi Dictionary: page 1295, character 1
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 40152
• Dae Jaweon: page 1795, character 13
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 6, page 4167, character 1
• Unihan data for U+91D1

• Unihan data for U+F90A

simp. and trad.		金
alternative forms		𠊍 𨤾 ⿳仺𭕄一 𠈘 𠉓 𠊍 𨤾 ⿳仺𭕄一 𠈘 𠉓 𨥀 𨥄 ⿱丿⿴囗⿱二水

Chemical element
Au
Previous: 鉑／铂 (bó) (Pt)
Next: 汞 (gǒng) (Hg)

Phono-semantic compound (形聲 / 形声, OC *krɯm): semantic 士 (“upside-down ritual axe perhaps made of precious materials”) + semantic 丷 (“two blocks of metal”) + phonetic 亼. The semantic component in folk etymology is very often misinterpreted as 王. The minerals, originally drawn as : and then as 丷, are sometimes indicated as 呂, however the latter is the pictogram of two vertebrae.

The upper component 亼 is the ancient form for 今 (OC *krɯm) and it represents an open mouth flipped upside down; it indicates the original pronunciation of the whole character.

Shuowen interprets it as an image of metal in the earth (Xu Shen writes "象金在土中形") with 亼 as phonetic. But the most ancient versions do not contain the pictogram of the earth.

Originally referred to copper, first used during the Copper Age and the Jade Age in China (hence before the Bronze Age, during which the first bronzes were produced); later the meaning was extended to metal as a whole, and then to gold.

Starostin reconstructs Proto-Sino-Tibetan *gǝ̆m (“metal”); compare Tedim Chin xam (“gold”) and Lepcha ᰀᰩᰮ (kóm, “silver, coin, money”).

“Copper” [prior to 5th BCE] → “metals in general” → “gold”.

The main senses now are “gold” and “metal”.

Some of the Manchu people with this surname are descendants of the Qing imperial family and is a calque of Manchu ᠠᡳᠰᡳᠨ (aisin, “gold”) in their original surname ᠠᡳᠰᡳᠨ
ᡤᡳᠣᡵᠣ (aisin gioro).

金

1. (obsolete) copper (Cu)
2. metal

   合金  ―  héjīn  ―  alloy

3. metalware
4. gold (Au)

   金的顏色和黃銅很相似。 [MSC, trad.]
   金的颜色和黄铜很相似。 [MSC, simp.]

   Jīn de yánsè hé huángtóng hěn xiāngsì. [Pinyin]

   Gold is similar in color to brass.

5. golden; blond

   金髮／金发  ―  jīnfà  ―  blond

   他被獎勵了一塊金錶。 [MSC, trad.]
   他被奖励了一块金表。 [MSC, simp.]

   Tā bèi jiǎnglì le yīkuài jīn biǎo. [Pinyin]

   He received a golden watch as a prize.

6. (by extension) money; material wealth

   現金／现金  ―  xiànjīn  ―  cash

   資金／资金  ―  zījīn  ―  funds

   金錢／金钱  ―  jīnqián  ―  currency

7. (historical) ancient currency unit
8. (historical) gong or other metalware for signalling commands in the military

   金鼓齊鳴／金鼓齐鸣  ―  jīngǔqímíng  ―  the gongs and drums of war sound out in unison

9. respectful; precious

   金玉良言  ―  jīnyùliángyán  ―  precious advice

10. used in 金城 (jīnchéng)

    金城湯池／金城汤池  ―  jīnchéngtāngchí  ―  strongly fortified city

11. short for 金星 (Jīnxīng, “Venus”)
12. one of the eight kinds of instruments (八音 (-))
13. metal, one of the five elements of Wu Xing (五行 (-))
14. (Cantonese, cant) fire; flame
15. (Cantonese, cant) roasted

    金豬／金猪 [Cantonese]  ―  gam¹ zyu¹ [Jyutping]  ―  roasted suckling pig

16. (～朝) (historical) The Jurchen Jin dynasty (1115–1234)
17. (～朝, ～國) (historical) synonym of 後金 / 后金 (Hòujīn), the Jurchen Later Jin state (1616–1636)
18. a surname

    金聖歎／金圣叹  ―  Jīn Shèngtàn  ―  Jin Shengtan (Chinese literary critic)

    金焰  ―  Jīn Yàn  ―  Jin Yan (Chinese actor)

Others:

• → Bouyei: jiml (“gold”)
• → Lao: ຄຳ (kham, “gold”)
• → Thai: คำ (kam, “gold”)
• → Zhuang: gim (“gold”)
• → Tagalog: ginto (“gold”)

• “金”, in 教育部臺灣台語常用詞辭典 [Dictionary of Frequently-Used Taiwanese Taigi] (overall work in Mandarin and Hokkien), Ministry of Education, R.O.C., 2025.
• “金”, in 漢語多功能字庫 (Multi-function Chinese Character Database)‎^[2], 香港中文大學 (the Chinese University of Hong Kong), 2014–

(First grade kyōiku kanji)

• Go-on: こん (kon, Jōyō)^{←こん (kon, historical)←こむ (komu, ancient)}
• Kan-on: きん (kin, Jōyō)^{←きん (kin, historical)←きむ (kimu, ancient)}
• Kun: かね (kane, 金, Jōyō)、かな (kana, 金, Jōyō ^†)、こがね (kogane, 金)
• Nanori: か (ka)

Kanji in this term
金
きん Grade: 1
kan'on

Chemical element
Au
Previous: 白金 (Pt)
Next: 水銀 (Hg)

/kimʉ/ → /kiɴ/

From Middle Chinese 金 (kim). Compare modern Mandarin 金 (jīn), Hokkien 金 (kim).

• (Tokyo) きん [kíꜜǹ] (Atamadaka – [1])^[1][2]
• IPA^(key): [kʲĩɴ]

金(きん) • (kin) 

1. gold (Au)
2. money

   金(きん)一(いっ)封(ぷう)をもらった。 ― kin ippū o moratta. ― I received a gift of money.

3. short for 金属 (kinzoku): metal
4. (shogi) short for 金将 (kinshō): a gold general
5. metal as one of the five classical elements in traditional Chinese philosophy and medicine
6. short for 金曜日 (kin’yōbi): Friday

金(きん) • (kin) 

1. metal, metallic
2. gold, gold-colored
3. money
4. (by extension of “golden”) excellent, fine, splendid

金(きん) • (Kin) 

1. the Jin dynasty (1115–1234)

• キム (Kimu), surname directly borrowed from Korean

Kanji in this term
金
こん Grade: 1
goon

/komʉ/ → /koɴ/

From Middle Chinese 金 (kim).

• (Tokyo) こん [kóꜜǹ] (Atamadaka – [1])^[1]
• IPA^(key): [kõ̞ɴ]

金(こん) • (kon) 

1. metal as one of the five classical elements in traditional Chinese philosophy and medicine

金(こん) • (kon) 

1. metal, metallic
2. gold, gold-colored
3. (by extension of “golden”) excellent, fine, superb

Kanji in this term
金
かね Grade: 1
kun'yomi

Alternative spellings
銀 銅 鉄

From Old Japanese.

Possibly derived from unbound prefix kana- fused with い (i, nominal particle). (Can this⁽⁺⁾ etymology be sourced?)

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium. Particularly: “Cognate with terms with a ka- stem pertaining to “hardness”?”)

The four kanji spellings of this term, 金 (“gold”), 銀 (“silver”), 銅 (“copper”), and 鉄 (“iron”), hint at the importance of each of these four metals in ancient Japan.

• (Tokyo) かね [kàné] (Heiban – [0])^[1][2]
• IPA^(key): [ka̠ne̞]

金(かね) • (kane) 

1. metal

   Synonym: 金属 (kinzoku)

2. (impolite) clipping of お金 (okane): money
3. (colloquial) short for 曲尺 (kanejaku): a carpenter’s square
4. (colloquial) short for 金物 (kanamono) or 金具 (kanagu): metal fittings
5. short for 金性 (kaneshō): fineness of gold metal, compare English karat
6. synonym of 金箔 (kinpaku): gold leaf

The 金 spelling is the most common for this term.

• → Ainu: カニ, カーニ

Kanji in this term
金
こがね Grade: 1
kun'yomi

For pronunciation and definitions of 金 – see the following entry.

【黄金こがね】 [noun] gold (Au) as a metal [noun] money, more specifically the large 大判 (ōban) gold coins formerly used in Japan [noun] short for 黄金色 (kogane iro): gold as a colour [noun] short for 黄金の泥 (kogane no dei): powdered gold suspended in a base and used as paint

(This term, 金, is an alternative spelling of the above term.)

Kanji in this term
金
きむ Grade: 1
irregular

For pronunciation and definitions of 金 – see the following entry.

【キム】 [proper noun] a transliteration of the Korean surname 김(金) (Gim), Kim

(This term, 金, is an alternative spelling of the above term.)

From Middle Chinese 金 (MC kim).

Historical Readings
Dongguk Jeongun Reading
Dongguk Jeongun, 1448	금 (Yale: kùm)
Middle Korean
Text	Eumhun
	Gloss (hun)	Reading
Hunmong Jahoe, 1527[3]	쇠〮 (Yale: swóy)	금 (Yale: kùm)

• (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA^(key): [kɯm]
• Phonetic hangul: [금]

Wikisource

金 (eumhun 쇠 금 (soe geum))

1. Hanja form^? of 금 (“gold; amount of money”). [noun]
2. Hanja form^? of 금 (“money”). [suffix]
3. Hanja form^? of 금 (“short for 금요일(金曜日) (geumyoil, “Friday”)”).

Most likely a borrowing from Early Mandarin 金 (EM *kim) during Mongol rule in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries.^[1]

• (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA^(key): [kim]
• Phonetic hangul: [김]

金 (eumhun 사람의 성(姓) 김 (saram-ui seong gim))

1. Hanja form^? of 김 (“a surname; used in placenames”).

• 국제퇴계학회 대구경북지부 (國際退溪學會 大邱慶北支部) (2007). Digital Hanja Dictionary, 전자사전／電子字典. [4]

• 思金神 (Omo₂pi₁kane no₂ kami₂)

From Proto-Japonic *kanai.

Possibly derived from unbound prefix kana- stemmed with nominal particle い (i). (Can this⁽⁺⁾ etymology be sourced?)

金 (kane) (kana かね)

1. a metal, especially gold

   Coordinate terms: 銀, 鐵, 銅 (kane)

• > Japanese: 金 (kane) (inherited)

From 黃 (ku, “yellow”) +‎ 金 (kane, “metal”).

金 (kugane) (kana くがね)

1. alternative spelling of 黃金 (kugane): gold as a metal

   Coordinate terms: 銅 (akagane), 鐵 (kuro₁gane), 銀 (siro₁gane)

• Japanese: 黄金 (kogane)

金: Hán Việt readings: kim^[1][2][3]
金: Nôm readings: kim^[1][2][4], ghim^[3][5], câm^[2], găm^[3], ghim^[4]

1. chữ Hán form of kim (“gold; metal”)
2. chữ Hán form of Kim (“a surname from Chinese”)