钥 (yào): key

钥 (yào) is a Chinese character meaning “key.” Classified as HSK Level 4 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 钅 (semantic) and 月 (phonetic). It ranks #2397 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).

Etymologically derived, 钥 metal. Its radical form 钅 (metal) appears in many related characters such as 钱 (qián, money), 错 (cuò, wrong, mistake), 钟 (zhōng, clock, bell).

Spoken pronunciation

Definitions

  1. key

Etymology & Origin

钥

pictophoneticmetal

Decomposition: ⿰钅月 (layout: left-right)

Stroke Order

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9

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

Words & Compounds

HSK Vocabulary with 钥

WordPinyinMeaningHSK
钥匙nounyào shikey4

Common Compounds

WordPinyinMeaning
一把钥匙开一把锁yī bǎ yào shi kāi yī bǎ suǒOne key opens one lock.
公钥noungōng yào(cryptography) public key
万能钥匙nounwàn néng yào shimaster key
金钥nounjīn yàothe key (to solving a problem etc)
权钥quán yàokeys of authority
私人钥匙sī rén yào shiprivate key (in encryption)
密钥nounmì yào(cryptography) key
私钥nounsī yào(cryptography) private key
钥匙卡nounyào shi kǎkeycard
配钥匙pèi yào shito make a key
锁钥nounsuǒ yuèkey and lock
钥匙链nounyào shi liànkeychain
13
Total compounds
23
As first character
46
As last character
31
As middle character

钥 appears in 13 compound words: 23 as the first character, 46 as the last, and 31 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 钥 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.

匙chí
0.8373,514 co-occurrences
密mì
0.5834,948 co-occurrences
私sī
0.437602 co-occurrences
锁suǒ
0.392217 co-occurrences
丢diū
0.38535 co-occurrences
柜guì
0.37537 co-occurrences
泄xiè
0.37452 co-occurrences
换huàn
0.359174 co-occurrences
把bǎ
0.348337 co-occurrences
串chuàn
0.347128 co-occurrences

Idioms & Chengyu (1)

万能钥匙wànnéng yàoshiHSK 4+

master key; skeleton key

noun

Example Sentences

AI-Generated

钥刚石是自然界最坚硬的物质。

yuè gāng shí shì zì rán jiè zuì jiān yìng de wù zhì .

Diamond is the hardest substance in nature.

少数派Aug 2026

访问 教育优惠页面 ,输入个人姓名及教育邮箱提交申请,审核通过后即可获得激活密钥。

fǎng wèn jiào yù yōu huì xié miàn , shū rù gè rén xìng míng jí jiào yù yóu xiāng tí jiāo shēn qǐng , shěn hé tōng guò hòu jí kě huò dé jī huó mì yuè .

Visit the Educational Discounts page, enter your name and educational email address, and submit your application. Once your application is approved, you will receive an activation key.

爱范儿Aug 2026

这是一台可以挂在钥匙上的迷你数码相机,论解析力、清晰度,完全比不上智能手机。

zhè shì yī tái kě yǐ guà zài yuè chí shàng de mí nǐ shǔ mǎ xiāng jī , lùn jiě xī lì , qīng xī dù , wán quán bǐ bù shàng zhì néng shǒu jī .

This is a mini digital camera that can be attached to a keychain; in terms of resolution and clarity, it doesn't hold a candle to a smartphone.

IT之家Aug 2026

本次突发情况不影响车辆正常驾驶,建议车主随身携带物理钥匙,保障正常出行。

běn cì tū fā qíng kuàng bù yǐng xiǎng chē liàng zhèng cháng jià shǐ , jiàn yì chē zhǔ suí shēn xié dài wù lǐ yuè chí , bǎo zhàng zhèng cháng chū háng .

This unexpected situation will not affect normal vehicle operation. We recommend that owners carry a physical key with them to ensure uninterrupted travel.

NewtalkMar 2026

苏元和观点》力积电三把金钥来了 第三次奇迹会降临?

sū yuán hé guàn diǎn lì jī diàn sān bǎ jīn yuè lái le dì sān cì qí jì huì jiàng lín ?

"Su Yuanhe's Perspective": Lixing Electric's Three Golden Keys Have Arrived—Will a Third Miracle Happen?

Vietnam+Mar 2026

人工智能 - 企业增长的关键钥匙

rén gōng zhì néng qǐ yè zēng cháng de guān jiàn yuè chí

Artificial Intelligence: The Key to Business Growth

Tatoeba

你把钥匙给汤姆了吗?

Nǐ bǎ yàoshi gěi Tāngmu le ma?

Did you give Tom the key?

Tatoeba

给我这座城堡的钥匙!

Gěi wǒ zhè zuò chéngbǎo de yàoshi!

Give me the key to this castle!

Tatoeba

吉姆将钥匙插入门锁。

Jí mǔ jiāng yàoshi chārù ménsuǒ.

Jim put the key into the lock.

Tatoeba

汤姆把钥匙拿出了口袋。

Tāngmǔ bǎ yàoshi náchū le kǒudài.

Tom took his keys out of his pocket.

Character Family

Semantic Family — Characters sharing the 钅 (metal) component

Homophones — Characters pronounced yào

Frequently Asked Questions

What does 钥 (yào) mean in Chinese?
钥 (yào) primarily means "key." It is classified as HSK Level 4, making it an upper-intermediate character. It ranks #2397 in character frequency.
What's the difference between 钥 and 有?
钥 (yào) and 有 (yǒu) are often confused. confusable. The key distinguishing feature: 钅 vs 月 (same 月 component).
How many strokes does 钥 have?
钥 is written with 9 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 钥?
The radical associated with 钥 is 钅 (metal). This radical appears in many characters related to metal.
What are the components of 钥?
钥 is composed of: 钅 (semantic), 月 (phonetic). Its IDS decomposition is ⿰钅月 with a left-right layout. Understanding the components helps with both memorization and recognizing related characters.
What are common words containing 钥?
Common words with 钥 include: 钥匙 (yào shi, "key"); 一把钥匙开一把锁 (yī bǎ yào shi kāi yī bǎ suǒ, "One key opens one lock."); 公钥 (gōng yào, "(cryptography) public key"); 万能钥匙 (wàn néng yào shi, "master key"); 金钥 (jīn yào, "the key (to solving a problem etc)"). There are over 13 compound words containing this character.
What characters sound the same as 钥 (yào)?
Several characters share the pronunciation yào: 要 (to want), 药 (medicine), 摇 (to shake), 腰 (waist), and 3 more. Context and tones help distinguish between them in speech and writing.
Is 钥 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Yes, 钥 is written the same way in both simplified and traditional Chinese.

Practice writing 钥 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.