金 (jīn): metal, gold
金 (jīn) is a Chinese character meaning “metal, gold.” Classified as HSK Level 4 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 人 (structural), 王 (structural) and 丷 (structural). It ranks #260 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically pictographic, 金 a cast-iron bell. Its radical form 钅 (metal) appears in many related characters such as 钱 (qián, money), 错 (cuò, wrong, mistake), 钟 (zhōng, clock, bell).
Definitions
- metal, gold
Etymology & Origin
pictographicA cast-iron bell
Decomposition: ⿱人⿻王丷 (layout: top-bottom)
Stroke Order
Practice writing 金 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 金
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 现金noun | xiàn jīn | cash | 4 |
| 金属noun | jīn shǔ | metal | 6 |
| 资金noun | zī jīn | funds | 5 |
| 基金noun | jī jīn | fund | 6 |
| 黄金noun | huáng jīn | gold | 5 |
| 金钱noun | jīn qián | money | 6 |
| 奖金noun | jiǎng jīn | premium | 4 |
| 金子noun | jīn zi | gold | 6 |
| 奖学金noun | jiǎng xué jīn | scholarship | 4 |
| 租金noun | zū jīn | rent | 5 |
| 金融noun | jīn róng | banking | 6 |
| 金牌noun | jīn pái | gold medal | 6 |
| 金额noun | jīn é | sum of money | 6 |
| 押金noun | yā jīn | deposit | 5 |
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 美金noun | měi jīn | American dollar |
| 金发noun | jīn fà | blond |
| 旧金山proper-noun | jiù jīn shān | San Francisco, California |
| 金色noun | jīn sè | golden |
| 基金会 | jī jīn huì | foundation (institution supported by an endowment) |
| 赎金noun | shú jīn | ransom |
| 赏金noun | shǎng jīn | monetary reward |
| 金枪鱼noun | jīn qiāng yú | tuna |
| 金库noun | jīn kù | treasury |
| 金币noun | jīn bì | gold coin |
| 金刚noun | jīn gāng | diamond |
| 白金noun | bái jīn | platinum |
| 金字塔noun | jīn zì tǎ | pyramid (building or structure) |
| 养老金noun | yǎng lǎo jīn | pension |
| 金鱼noun | jīn yú | goldfish |
金 appears in 115 compound words: 47 as the first character, 49 as the last, and 4 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 金 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (60)
every inch of land is an inch of gold; land is extremely expensive in an area
every inch of land is an inch of gold; land is extremely expensive in an area
Showing 12 of 60 idioms containing 金.
Example Sentences
金融市场波动很大，投资者需要谨慎决策。
Jīnróng shìchǎng bōdòng hěn dà, tóuzīzhě xūyào jǐnshèn juécè.
Financial markets fluctuate greatly; investors need to make decisions carefully.
深夜,黄金、白银、原油齐涨,美股三大指数集体上涨丨...
shēn yè , huáng jīn bái yín yuán yóu qí zhǎng , měi gǔ sān dà zhǐ shǔ jí tī shǎng zhǎng 丨 . . .
Late at night, gold, silver, crude oil rose, the three major U.S. stock indexes rose collectively 丨....
你还是曾经那个少年!苏翊鸣斩获中国队首金
nǐ hái shì céng jīng nā gě shǎo nián ! sū 翊 míng zhǎn huò zhōng guó duì shǒu jīn
You're still the same teenager! Su Yiming wins China's first gold.
渝股2025年业绩预快报:金科股份净利润325亿元..
yú gǔ nián yè jì yù kuài bào jīn kē gǔ fèn jìng lì rùn yì yuán . .
Chongqing Stock 2025 Preliminary Earnings Report: Jinke Co., Ltd. Net Profit Hits 32.5 Billion Yuan...
新冬能·场外音|关尹:超越胜负的拥抱比金牌更可贵
xīn dōng néng chǎng wài yīn guān 尹 chāo yuè shèng fù de yōng bào bǐ jīn pái gēng kě guì
New Winter Energy | Off-Ice Commentary: Guan Yin: An Embrace Beyond Victory and Defeat Is More Precious Than Gold
...会DAY12观赛指南:刘少昂林孝埈携手冲金
. . . huì guàn sài zhǐ nán liú shǎo áng lín xiào 埈 xié shǒu chōng jīn
Day 12 Viewing Guide: Liu Shaoang and Lim Hyo-joong Team Up for Gold
哪个比较重，铅还是黄金？
Nǎge bǐjiào zhòng, qiān háishi huángjīn?
Which is heavier, lead or gold?
能给我们一张代金券吗？
Néng gěi wǒmen yī zhāng dài jīn quàn ma?
Can we get a voucher?
克里斯取得了七枚金幣！
Kè lǐ sī qǔdé le qī méi jīnbì!
Chris gets 7 gold coins!
谁来为风险投资提供资金？
Shéi lái wèi fēngxiǎn tóuzī tígōng zījīn?
Who will provide capital for the venture?
Character Family
钅 Radical Family — Characters sharing the metal radical
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 金 (jīn) mean in Chinese?
How many strokes does 金 have?
What is the radical of 金?
What are the components of 金?
What are common words containing 金?
What characters sound the same as 金 (jīn)?
Is 金 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 金 with real-time feedback
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