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五金 (wǔ jīn) — (traditional) the five metals: gold, silver, copper, iron, and tin; metal materials; hardware (fittings, tools)

Definition

Literally 'the five metals' (gold, silver, copper, iron, tin), but in modern use it almost always means hardware — fittings, tools, and metal household goods sold at a 五金店.

noun
(traditional) the five metals: goldsilvercopperironand tinmetal materialshardware (fittings, tools)
Measure word · 件

Examples

  • ，五金、、、、。
    Chuán tǒng shàng, wǔ jīn zhǐ de shì jīn, yín, tóng, tiě, xī zhè wǔ zhǒng jīn shǔ.
    Traditionally, 'wujin' refers to these five metals: gold, silver, copper, iron, and tin.
  • 。
    Wǒ xū yào qù wǔ jīn diàn mǎi yì xiē gōng jù.
    I need to go to the hardware store to buy some tools.
  • 五金。
    Huí shōu wǔ jīn kě yǐ jié yuē zī yuán.
    Recycling metals can save resources.

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.

五wǔfive
金jīnmetal

五 gives five and 金 gives metal, naming the traditional five metals and later hardware.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

An older form had a crossed mark between a top bar and a bottom bar. The modern 五 keeps those bars, while the original idea is uncertain.

Open 五 →

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
Materials & SubstancesMiscellaneous Objects

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