黄金

See also: 黃金

Contents

Chinese

For pronunciation and definitions of 黄金 – see 黃金 (“gold; money; etc.”). (This term, 黄金, is the simplified form of 黃金.)

Notes: Simplified Chinese is mainly used in Mainland China and Singapore. Traditional Chinese is mainly used in Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan.

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Japanese

Etymology 1

Kanji in this term
黄	金
おう Grade: 2	こん > ごん Grade: 1
on’yomi

/wauɡon/ → /wɔːɡon/ → /oːɡon/

From Middle Chinese 黃金 (MC ɦwɑŋ kˠiɪm, “yellow + metal”). Compare modern Cantonese wong⁴ gam¹.

Pronunciation

• On’yomi: Goon
  • (Tokyo) おーごん [òógóń] (Heiban – [0])
  • IPA^(key): [o̞ːɡõ̞ɴ]

Noun

黄金 (hiragana おうごん, rōmaji ōgon, historical hiragana わうごん)

1. the metal gold (Au)
2. the color gold
3. money, more specifically, the large 大判 (ōban) gold coins formerly used in Japan.

Usage notes

The ōgon reading is the more common on'yomi for this term.

Synonyms

• (color):
  • 黄金色 (こがねいろ) (kogane iro)
  • 金色 (きんいろ) (kin'iro); 金色 (きんしょく) (kinshoku); 金色 (こんじき) (konjiki)

Etymology 2

Kanji in this term
黄	金
こう Grade: 2	きん Grade: 1
on’yomi

/kwaukin/ → /kwɔːkin/ → /koːkin/

From Middle Chinese 黃金 (MC ɦwɑŋ kˠiɪm, “yellow + metal”). Compare modern Min Nan reading hông-kim.

Pronunciation

• On’yomi: Kan’on
  • IPA^(key): [ko̞ːkʲĩɴ]

Noun

黄金 (hiragana こうきん, rōmaji kōkin, historical hiragana くわうきん)

1. (obsolete) money
2. (obsolete) the metal gold (Au)
3. (obsolete) the color gold

Usage notes

The ōgon reading is the more common on'yomi for this term.

Etymology 3

Kanji in this term
黄	金
き Grade: 2	かね > がね Grade: 1
kun’yomi

Compound of 黄 (ki, “yellow”) +‎ 金 (kane, “metal”). The kane changes to gane as an instance of rendaku (連濁).

Pronunciation

• Kun’yomi
  • IPA^(key): [kʲiɡa̠ne̞]

Noun

黄金 (hiragana きがね, rōmaji kigane)

1. (rare) the metal gold (Au)
2. (rare) money

   In modern Japanese, often refers more specifically to the large 大判 (ōban) or smaller 小判 (koban) gold coins formerly used in Japan.

Usage notes

The kogane reading is the more common kun'yomi for this term.

Etymology 4

Kanji in this term
黄	金
く Grade: 2	かね > がね Grade: 1
kun’yomi

Variant of kigane above.

Pronunciation

• Kun’yomi
  • IPA^(key): [kɯ̟ᵝɡa̠ne̞]

Alternative forms

• 金

Noun

黄金 (hiragana くがね, rōmaji kugane)

1. the metal gold (Au)
2. money

Usage notes

The kogane reading is the more common kun'yomi for this term.

Etymology 5

Kanji in this term
黄	金
こ Grade: 2	かね > がね Grade: 1
kun’yomi

Variant of kugane above.

Pronunciation

• Kun’yomi
  • (Tokyo) こがね [kògáné] (Heiban – [0])
  • IPA^(key): [ko̞ɡa̠ne̞]

Alternative forms

• 金

Noun

黄金 (hiragana こがね, rōmaji kogane)

1. the metal gold (Au)
2. money
3. the color gold
4. short for 黄金の泥 (kogane no dei): powdered gold suspended in a base and used as a paint

Usage notes

The kogane reading is the more common kun'yomi for this term.

Synonyms

• (color):
  • 黄金色 (こがねいろ) (kogane iro)
  • 金色 (きんいろ) (kin'iro); 金色 (きんしょく) (kinshoku); 金色 (こんじき) (konjiki)
• (gold paint):
  • 小金 (こがね)の泥 (でい) (kogane no dei)
  • 金 (こん)泥 (でい) (kondei)

References