DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

金

Mandarin · pinyin jīn#

gold
chemical element Au
generic term for lustrous and ductile metals
money
golden
highly respected
one of the eight categories of ancient musical instruments 八音 bā yīn

Mandarin · pinyin Jīn#

surname Jin
surname Kim (Korean)
Jurchen Jin dynasty (1115–1234)

Full entryShow on map

Characters in this entry

金: jīn · gold; metals in general; money; Kangxi radical 167

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

Explore the spelling

Mandarin tones

1 · jin1

Compare attested words with these syllables ↗

Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.

Connected dictionary

1character link26same-tone records1source reference

Explore word families ↗Compare pronunciations ↗Open character structure ↗

Counts describe dictionary records, not word frequency or semantic similarity. Source identities stay separate.

Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

金 · find source passages ↗

Explore Classical grammar ↗

Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 19 senses · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

gam1

Cantonese word readings for 金. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

CanCLID contributors · CC BY 4.0 · source & license · Data pack

Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

character

(obsolete) copper (Cu)
metal
metalware
gold (Au)
gold; golden; blond (colour)
(by extension) money; material wealth
(historical) ancient currency unit
(historical) gong or other metalware for signalling commands in the military
respectful; precious
used in 金城 (jīnchéng, “impregnable city”)
(abbreviation, alt-of) short for 金星 (Jīnxīng, “Venus”)
one of the eight kinds of instruments (八音 (-))
metal, one of the five elements of Wu Xing (五行 (-))
metal, one of the five elements of Wu Xing (五行 (-)) — (Classical) short for 金曜日 (jīnyàorì): Friday
(Cantonese, cant) fire; flame
(Cantonese, cant) roasted
(～朝) (historical) The Jurchen Jin dynasty (1115–1234)
(～朝, ～國) (historical) synonym of 後金 /后金 (Hòujīn), the Jurchen Later Jin state (1616–1636)
a surname

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source & license · Data pack