钾 (jiǎ): potassium (chemistry)

钾 (jiǎ) is a Chinese character meaning “potassium (chemistry).” Outside the HSK 3.0 syllabus (CLEC 2022), it is composed of 钅 (semantic) and 甲 (phonetic). It ranks #3477 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).

Etymologically derived, 钾 metal. Its radical form 钅 (metal) appears in many related characters such as 金 (jīn, metal, gold), 钱 (qián, money), 银 (yín, silver, bank).

Spoken pronunciation

Definitions

  1. potassium (chemistry)

Etymology & Origin

钾

pictophoneticmetal

Decomposition: ⿰钅甲 (layout: left-right)

Stroke Order

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10

Practice writing 钾 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.

Words & Compounds

Common Compounds

WordPinyinMeaning
氯化钾nounlǜ huà jiǎpotassium chloride
碘化钾diǎn huà jiǎpotassium iodide
氰化钾qíng huà jiǎpotassium cyanide KCN
硝酸钾xiāo suān jiǎpotassium nitrate
高锰酸钾gāo měng suān jiǎpotassium permanganate
钾盐jiǎ yánpotassium chloride KCl
山奈钾shān nài jiǎpotassium cyanide KCN
溴化钾xiù huà jiǎpotassium bromide
氢氧化钾nounqīng yǎng huà jiǎpotassium hydroxide
苛性钾nounkē xìng jiǎcaustic potash
山梨酸钾nounshān lí suān jiǎpotassium sorbate, E202 (a food preservative)
醋磺内酯钾cù huáng nèi zhǐ jiǎacesulfame potassium
硫酸钾nounliú suān jiǎpotassium sulfate
氯酸钾nounlǜ suān jiǎpotassium chlorate
碳酸钾nountàn suān jiǎpotassium carbonate
15
Total compounds
7
As first character
93
As last character
0
As middle character

钾 appears in 15 compound words: 7 as the first character, 93 as the last, and 0 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.

Example Sentences

中国新闻网·生活Sep 2026

肾功能不全者 一根香蕉约含420毫克钾。

shèn gōng néng bù quán zhě yī gēn xiāng jiāo yuē hán 4 2 0 háo kè jiǎ .

For people with impaired kidney function: One banana contains approximately 420 milligrams of potassium.

中国新闻网·生活Sep 2026

野生皮皮虾的钙、钾、镁等矿物质含量高于普通养殖虾类。

yě shēng pí pí xiā de gài , jiǎ , měi děng kuàng wù zhì hán liàng gāo yú pǔ tōng yǎng zhí xiā lèi .

Wild mantis shrimp have higher levels of minerals such as calcium, potassium, and magnesium than ordinary farmed shrimp.

中国新闻网·生活Sep 2026

其他营养元素: 钾、钙、镁的含量较为丰富。

qí tā yíng yǎng yuán sù : jiǎ , gài , měi de hán liàng jiào wéi fēng fù .

Other nutrients: It is relatively rich in potassium, calcium, and magnesium.

中国新闻网·生活Sep 2026

钾含量较高,帮助消水肿 每100克木耳菜含钾140毫克,有助于消水肿、减重减脂。

jiǎ hán liàng jiào gāo , bāng zhù xiāo shuǐ zhǒng měi 1 0 0 kè mù ěr cài hán jiǎ 1 4 0 háo kè , yǒu zhù yú xiāo shuǐ zhǒng , jiǎn chóng jiǎn zhī .

High in potassium, which helps reduce water retention. Every 100 grams of wood ear vegetable contains 140 milligrams of potassium, which helps reduce water retention, lose weight, and burn fat.

中国新闻网·生活Aug 2026

很多人不知道瘦肉中富含钾,因为钾是人体细胞内液中含量最高的一种离子。

hěn duō rén bù zhī dào shòu ròu zhōng fù hán jiǎ , yīn wéi jiǎ shì rén tǐ xì bāo nèi yè zhōng hán liàng zuì gāo de yī zhǒng lí zǐ .

Many people are unaware that lean meat is rich in potassium, since potassium is the most abundant ion in the intracellular fluid of the human body.

Character Family

Semantic Family — Characters sharing the 钅 (metal) component

Frequently Asked Questions

What does 钾 (jiǎ) mean in Chinese?
钾 (jiǎ) primarily means "potassium (chemistry)." It is not part of the HSK 3.0 syllabus. It ranks #3477 in character frequency.
What's the difference between 钾 and 押?
钾 (jiǎ) and 押 (yā) are often confused. confusable. The key distinguishing feature: 钅 vs 扌 (same 甲 component).
How many strokes does 钾 have?
钾 is written with 10 strokes. The correct stroke order matters for recognition and handwriting speed — practice with the animated guide above to build proper technique.
What is the radical of 钾?
The radical associated with 钾 is 钅 (metal). This radical appears in many characters related to metal.
What are the components of 钾?
钾 is composed of: 钅 (semantic), 甲 (phonetic). Its IDS decomposition is ⿰钅甲 with a left-right layout. Understanding the components helps with both memorization and recognizing related characters.
What are common words containing 钾?
Common words with 钾 include: 氯化钾 (lǜ huà jiǎ, "potassium chloride"); 碘化钾 (diǎn huà jiǎ, "potassium iodide"); 氰化钾 (qíng huà jiǎ, "potassium cyanide KCN"); 硝酸钾 (xiāo suān jiǎ, "potassium nitrate"); 高锰酸钾 (gāo měng suān jiǎ, "potassium permanganate"). There are over 15 compound words containing this character.
Is 钾 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
No. The simplified form is 钾 and the traditional form is 鉀.

Practice writing 钾 with real-time feedback

Trace stroke sequences, hear spoken pronunciation, and build lasting retention with spaced repetition in the HanziFeed app.

Character data sourced from Unihan (Unicode Consortium), SUBTLEX-CH frequency corpus (Cai & Brysbaert, 2010), and Make Me a Hanzi (stroke data). Collocation strength measured via NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information). Verified by the HanziFeed linguistics team.

HSK classification follows the HSK 3.0 Standard (Center for Language Education and Cooperation, CLEC, 2022 revision). Idiom data from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).

Data last verified: March 2026.