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黄金 (huáng jīn) — gold (the precious metal); (attributive) golden, prime (as in 黄金机会, 黄金时期)

Definition

黄金 (huángjīn) literally means 'gold' but is used more for the metal and as an attributive modifier meaning 'prime / golden' (黄金时间, 黄金机会). 金子 is plain 'gold' as a physical substance.

noun
gold (the precious metal)(attributive) goldenprime (as in 黄金机会, 黄金时期)

Examples

  • 黄金。
    Tā mǎi le yì tiáo huáng jīn xiàng liàn.
    He bought a gold necklace.
  • 黄金，。
    Zhè shì yí gè huáng jīn jī huì, bú yào cuò guò.
    This is a golden opportunity, don't miss it.
  • 黄金。
    Chūn tiān shì lǚ yóu de huáng jīn jì jié.
    Spring is the prime season for travel.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

黄huángyellow
金jīnmetal

黄 yellow and 金 metal name the precious yellow metal.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 黃; 黄 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
田田tiánfield
Sound part声符shēngfú
炗
炗guāng黃huáng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 黃 pairs 田 (field) with 炗 (light), which gives the sound; the simplified 黄 is a shorthand and its parts are not historical components.

Open 黄 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

金 was drawn with marks for two pieces of metal, along with a part that gave its sound; it first meant copper, then metals and gold.

Open 金 →
Appears in
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