铜 (tóng): copper
铜 (tóng) is a Chinese character meaning “copper.” Classified as HSK Level 6 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 钅 (semantic) and 同 (phonetic). It ranks #1755 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 铜 metal. Its radical form 钅 (metal) appears in many related characters such as 钱 (qián, money), 错 (cuò, wrong, mistake), 钟 (zhōng, clock, bell).
Definitions
- copper
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
Practice writing 铜 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 铜
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 铜板 | tóng bǎn | copper coin |
| 青铜 | qīng tóng | bronze (alloy of copper 銅|铜 and tin 錫|锡[xi1]) |
| 黄铜 | huáng tóng | brass (alloy of copper 銅|铜[tong2] and zinc 鋅|锌[xin1]) |
| 古铜色 | gǔ tóng sè | bronze color |
| 铜管 | tóng guǎn | brass instrument (music) |
| 铜像 | tóng xiàng | bronze statue |
| 铜器 | tóng qì | copper ware |
| 铜锣 | tóng luó | gong |
| 铜墙铁壁 | tóng qiáng tiě bì | copper wall, iron bastion (idiom) |
| 青铜器 | qīng tóng qì | bronze implement |
| 铜矿 | tóng kuàng | copper mine |
| 铜钱 | tóng qián | copper coin (round with a square hole in the middle, used in former times in China) |
| 铜丝 | tóng sī | copper wire |
| 青铜器时代 | qīng tóng qì shí dài | the Bronze Age |
| 自然铜 | zì rán tóng | natural copper |
铜 appears in 62 compound words: 68 as the first character, 15 as the last, and 18 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 铜 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (3)
Example Sentences
铜的导电性很好，常用于制造电线和电缆。
Tóng de dǎodiànxìng hěn hǎo, cháng yòng yú zhìzào diànxiàn hé diànlǎn.
Copper has good electrical conductivity and is commonly used to make wires and cables.
俄罗斯女佩剑选手包揽欧青赛金铜牌
é luó sī nǚ pèi jiàn xuǎn shǒu bāo lǎn ōu qīng sài jīn tóng pái
Russian female saber players won the gold and bronze medals at the European Youth Championships
...娃|陈滢“黄金32C”画面爆回响 与李海铜“暖心闺密”获封潜力 CP
. . . wá chén 滢 huáng jīn 3 2 C huà miàn bào huí xiǎng yǔ lǐ hǎi tóng nuǎn xīn guī mì huò fēng qián lì C P
... Chen Ying's "Golden 32C" picture reverberated with Li Haitong's "heart-warming girlfriend" and was awarded a potential CP
中国队获5金4银6铜,创境外参赛最佳战绩
zhōng guó duì huò 5 jīn 4 yín 6 tóng , chuàng jìng wài cān sài zuì jiā zhàn jì
The Chinese team won 5 golds, 4 silvers and 6 bronzes, setting the best record in overseas competitions
5金4银6铜!中国冬奥军团刷新境外参赛历史最好成绩
5 jīn 4 yín 6 tóng ! zhōng guó dōng ào jūn tuán shuā xīn jìng wài cān sài lì shǐ zuì hǎo chéng jì
5 gold, 4 silver and 6 bronze! The Chinese Winter Olympic Legion set a new record in the history of overseas competitions
徐梦桃、邵琪冬奥会摘金夺铜,母校发来喜报
xú mèng táo 邵 琪 dōng ào huì zhāi jīn duó tóng , mǔ jiào fā lái xǐ bào
Xu Mengtao and Shao Qi win gold and bronze in Winter Olympics, and their alma mater sends them a happy report.
金的颜色和黄铜很相似。
Jīn de yánsè hé huángtóng hěn xiāngsì.
Gold is similar in color to brass.
现在我开始发铜牌。
Xiànzài wǒ kāishǐ fā tóngpái.
Now I am starting to issue copper medals.
这把汤匙是铜制的。
Zhè bǎ tāngchí shì tóng zhì de.
This spoon is made of copper.
铜和银都是金属。
Tóng hé yín dōu shì jīnshǔ.
Copper and silver are both metals.
Character Family
钅 Radical Family — Characters sharing the metal radical
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 铜 (tóng) mean in Chinese?
What's the difference between 铜 and 洞?
How many strokes does 铜 have?
What is the radical of 铜?
What are the components of 铜?
What are common words containing 铜?
What characters sound the same as 铜 (tóng)?
Is 铜 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 铜 with real-time feedback
Trace stroke sequences, hear native pronunciation, and build lasting retention with spaced repetition in the HanziFeed app.