鉄

See also: 鐵 and 铁

鉄	U+9244, 鉄 CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-9244

← 鉃
[U+9243]

CJK Unified Ideographs

鉅 →
[U+9245]

Translingual

Stroke order

Traditional	鐵
Shinjitai	鉄
Simplified	铁

Han character

鉄 (Kangxi radical 167, 金+5, 13 strokes, cangjie input 金竹手人 (CHQO), composition ⿰釒失)

References

Kangxi Dictionary: page 1300, character 14
Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 40285
Dae Jaweon: page 1802, character 26
Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 6, page 4186, character 14
Unihan data for U+9244

Chinese

Glyph origin

Phono-semantic compound (形聲 / 形声): semantic 金 + phonetic 失 (OC *hliɡ).

Etymology 1

For pronunciation and definitions of 鉄 – see 鐵 (“iron; railway; etc.”). (This character is the former (1935–1936) ROC simplified, former (1969–1976) Singaporean simplified, and variant form of 鐵).
Notes: Simplified Chinese is mainly used in Mainland China, Malaysia, and Singapore. Traditional Chinese is mainly used in Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan.

Etymology 2

For pronunciation and definitions of 鉄 – see 紩 (“to sew”). (This character is recorded in one or more historical dictionaries as an ancient form of 紩).

References

Japanese

Shinjitai	鉄
Kyūjitai	鐵

Kanji

鉄

(Third grade kyōiku kanji, shinjitai kanji, kyūjitai form 鐵)

iron

Readings

Go-on: てち (techi)
Kan-on: てつ (tetsu, Jōyō)
Kun: くろがね (kurogane, 鉄)、かね (kane, 鉄)
Nanori: けん (ken)、てつ (tetsu)

Compounds

鉄(てっ)扇(せん) (tessen): A Japanese war fan
地(ち)下(か)鉄(てつ) (chikatetsu): subway, underground railway

Etymology 1

Chemical element
Fe
Previous: マンガン (mangan) (Mn)
Next: コバルト (kobaruto) (Co)

Kanji in this term
鉄
てつ Grade: 3
on'yomi

Alternative spelling
鐵 (kyūjitai)

Borrowed from Middle Chinese 鐵 (MC thet, “iron”). Compare modern Mandarin reading tiě, Hakka thiet.

Pronunciation

(Tokyo) てつ [tètsú] (Heiban – [0])^[1]
IPA^(key): [te̞t͡sɨ]

Noun

鉄(てつ) • (tetsu)

iron, the metal and the metallic chemical element
(more generally) steel
(figuratively) a blade, a knife, a sword, a weapon
(figuratively) something extremely strong
short for 鉄色 (tetsu iro, “steely black”)
short for 鉄砲 (teppō, literally “cannon”, but in this case, refers to the poisonous fugu blowfish or dishes made from it)
short for 鉄道 (tetsudō, “railway”)

Idioms

鉄(てつ)は熱(あつ)いうちに打(う)て (tetsu wa atsui uchi ni ute): “strike while the iron is hot”

Etymology 2

Kanji in this term
鉄
くろがね Grade: 3
kun'yomi

Alternative spellings
鐵 (kyūjitai) 黒金

Compound of 黒 (kuro, “black”) +‎ 金 (kane, “metal”).^[2]^[1] The kane changes to gane as an instance of rendaku (連濁). Compare the black in English blacksmith.

Pronunciation

(Tokyo) くろがね [kùrógáné] (Heiban – [0])^[1]
IPA^(key): [kɯ̟ɾo̞ɡa̠ne̞]

Noun

鉄(くろがね) • (kurogane)

(archaic) iron
(figuratively) something extremely strong

Etymology 3

Kanji in this term
鉄
かね Grade: 3
kun'yomi

Alternative spelling
鐵 (kyūjitai)

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

【金かね】1

[noun] metal

[noun] (impolite) clipping of お金 (okane): money

[noun] (colloquial) short for 曲尺 (kanejaku): a carpenter’s square

[noun] (colloquial) short for 金物 (kanamono) or 金具 (kanagu): metal fittings

[noun] short for 金性 (kaneshō): fineness of gold metal, compare English karat

[noun] synonym of 金箔 (kinpaku): gold leaf

Alternative spellings
銀, 銅

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

References

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 ^1.2 Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
^ Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典（新装版） [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN

[DJR-1] 1.0 ^1.1 ^1.2 Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN

[KDJ-2] Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典（新装版） [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN

[1]

[2]