白金

Chinese

		white; empty; blank white; empty; blank; bright; clear; plain; pure; gratuitous	metal; gold; money
simp. and trad. (白金)		白	金

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): báijīn

  (Zhuyin): ㄅㄞˊ ㄐㄧㄣ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): baak⁶ gam¹
• Southern Min (Hokkien, POJ): pe̍h-kim / pe̍eh-kim

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: báijīn
    • Zhuyin: ㄅㄞˊ ㄐㄧㄣ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: báijin
    • Wade–Giles: pai²-chin¹
    • Yale: bái-jīn
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: bairjin
    • Palladius: байцзинь (bajczinʹ)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /paɪ̯³⁵ t͡ɕin⁵⁵/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
    • Jyutping: baak⁶ gam¹
    • Yale: baahk gām
    • Cantonese Pinyin: baak⁹ gam¹
    • Guangdong Romanization: bag⁶ gem¹
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /paːk̚² kɐm⁵⁵/
    • Homophones:

      edit edit 白金 帛金

• Southern Min
  • (Hokkien: Xiamen, Quanzhou, General Taiwanese)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: pe̍h-kim
    • Tâi-lô: pe̍h-kim
    • Phofsit Daibuun: peqkym
    • IPA (Taipei): /pe(ʔ)⁴⁻¹¹ kim⁴⁴/
    • IPA (Xiamen, Kaohsiung): /pe(ʔ)⁴⁻²¹ kim⁴⁴/
    • IPA (Quanzhou): /pe(ʔ)²⁴⁻² kim³³/
  • (Hokkien: Zhangzhou)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: pe̍eh-kim
    • Tâi-lô: pe̍eh-kim
    • IPA (Zhangzhou): /pɛ(ʔ)¹²¹⁻²¹ kim⁴⁴/

Noun

白金

1. (informal) platinum (metal)
   • 1855 October 1, “熱氣理論：論長熱物”, in 遐邇貫珍 [Chinese Serial], volume III, number X:

     如此物本熱皆同一度，若加以熱分，即由水凍至水沸之一百八十度，鉛之所長，得三百五十一分之一，銀得五百二十四分之一，黃銅得五百三十二分之一，銅得五百八十一分之一，金得六百零二分之一，鐵得八百一十九分之一，白金得一千一百六十七分之一，玻璃得一千二百四十八分之一。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
     如此物本热皆同一度，若加以热分，即由水冻至水沸之一百八十度，铅之所长，得三百五十一分之一，银得五百二十四分之一，黄铜得五百三十二分之一，铜得五百八十一分之一，金得六百零二分之一，铁得八百一十九分之一，白金得一千一百六十七分之一，玻璃得一千二百四十八分之一。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

     jyu⁴ ci² mat⁶ bun² jit⁶ gaai¹ tung⁴ jat¹ dou⁶, joek⁶ gaa¹ ji⁵ jit⁶ fan¹, zik¹ jau⁴ seoi² dung³ zi³ seoi² fai³ zi¹ jat¹ baak³ baat³ sap⁶ dou⁶, jyun⁴ zi¹ so² coeng⁴, dak¹ saam¹ baak³ ng⁵ sap⁶ jat¹ fan¹ zi¹ jat¹, ngan⁴ dak¹ ng⁵ baak³ ji⁶ sap⁶ sei³ fan¹ zi¹ jat¹, wong⁴ tung⁴ dak¹ ng⁵ baak³ saam¹ sap⁶ ji⁶ fan¹ zi¹ jat¹, tung⁴ dak¹ ng⁵ baak³ baat³ sap⁶ jat¹ fan¹ zi¹ jat¹, gam¹ dak¹ luk⁶ baak³ ling⁴ ji⁶ fan¹ zi¹ jat¹, tit³ dak¹ baat³ baak³ jat¹ sap⁶ gau² fan¹ zi¹ jat¹, baak⁶ gam¹ dak¹ jat¹ cin¹ jat¹ baak³ luk⁶ sap⁶ cat¹ fan¹ zi¹ jat¹, bo¹ lei^4-1 dak¹ jat¹ cin¹ ji⁶ baak³ sei³ sap⁶ baat³ fan¹ zi¹ jat¹. [Jyutping]

     (please add an English translation of this usage example)

2. white gold (alloy of gold)
3. (archaic) silver (especially extracted, or used as a currency)

Synonyms

• (platinum):

edit

• 鉑／铂 (bó)
• 鉑金／铂金 (bójīn)

 

• (silver): 銀子／银子 (yínzi)

Derived terms

• 白金卡
• 白金婚 (báijīnhūn)
• 白金漢／白金汉 (Báijīnhàn)
• 白金漢宮／白金汉宫 (Báijīnhàn Gōng)

 

Descendants

Sino-Xenic (白金):

• → Japanese: 白金(はっきん) (hakkin)
• → Korean: 백금(白金) (baekgeum)
• → Vietnamese: bạch kim (白金)

Japanese

Chemical element
Pt
Previous: イリジウム (irijiumu) (Ir)
Next: 金(きん) (kin) (Au)

Etymology 1

Kanji in this term
白	金
はく > はっ Grade: 1	きん Grade: 1
on'yomi

Originally from Middle Chinese compound 白金 (MC baek kim, “white + metal”) in reference to silver. Consider 銀 (shirogane, older shirokane, “silver”, literally “white metal”), where shiro in isolation is spelled 白 and kane in isolation is spelled 金.

Repurposed by Japanese scientist Udagawa Yōan in 1834 as a compound of 白 (haku, “white”) +‎ 金 (kin, “gold”), in reference to the metal's description as “white gold” in earlier scientific works, such as Dutch witgoud.

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) はっきん [hàkkíń] (Heiban – [0])
• IPA^(key): [ha̠k̚ʲkʲĩɴ]

Noun

白(はっ)金(きん) • (hakkin) ^{←はくきん (fakukin)?}

1. platinum (metal)
2. (rare, possibly obsolete) silver, particularly silver powder used as a pigment

Usage notes

This reading hakkin is sometimes used erroneously to refer to white gold, due to one of the literal interpretations of the characters in the kanji spelling. The reading shirokin (see below) appears in some reference works with the meaning white gold, but the borrowed term ホワイトゴールド (howaito gōrudo) is much more common.

Synonyms

• (platinum): プラチナ (purachina)
• (silver): 銀(ぎん) (gin), 銀(しろがね) (shirogane)
• (silver powder): 銀(ぎん)粉(ぷん) (ginpun)

Descendants

• → Chinese: 白金 (báijīn)
• → Korean: 백금 (baekgeum)
• → Vietnamese: bạch kim

Etymology 2

Kanji in this term
白	金
しろ Grade: 1	きん Grade: 1
yutōyomi

Compound of 白 (shiro, “white”) +‎ 金 (kin, “gold”). The use of the kun'yomi for the first character and the on'yomi for the second character points to a more recent derivation.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ɕiɾo̞kʲĩɴ]

Noun

白(しろ)金(きん) • (shirokin) 

1. (rare, possibly proscribed) white gold

Synonyms

• ホワイトゴールド (howaito gōrudo) (much more common)
• 白(はく)色(しょく)金(きん) (hakushokukin)

References

• Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典（新装版） [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN

Korean

Hanja in this term
白	金

Noun

白金 • (baekgeum) (hangeul 백금)

1. hanja form^? of 백금 (“platinum”)

Vietnamese

chữ Hán Nôm in this term
白	金

Noun

白金

1. chữ Hán form of bạch kim (“platinum”).