黄金

See also: 黃金

Chinese

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

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

---

Japanese

Etymology 1

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

Alternative spelling
黃金 (kyūjitai)

/wauɡon/ → /wɔːɡon/ → /oːɡon/

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

Noun

黄(おう)金(ごん) • (ōgon) ^{←わうごん (waugon)?}

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

Alternative spelling
黃金 (kyūjitai)

/kwaukin/ → /kwɔːkin/ → /koːkin/

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

Noun

黄(こう)金(きん) • (kōkin) ^{←くわうきん (kwaukin)?}

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

Alternative spelling
黃金 (kyūjitai)

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

Noun

黄(き)金(がね) • (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

Alternative spelling
黃金 (kyūjitai)

Variant of kigane above.

Alternative forms

• 金

Noun

黄(く)金(がね) • (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

Alternative spelling
黃金 (kyūjitai)

Variant of kugane above.

Alternative forms

• 金

Noun

黄(こ)金(がね) • (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)
  • 金泥(こんでい) (kondei)