黄金
Meaning in Englishgold
Animated kanji stroke order
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Word context
What it means
黄金 means "gold" or "golden" in Japanese and primarily refers to the precious metal (Au) as a noun used to identify the material itself in technical, commercial, and everyday contexts.
Main meanings
- golden color or hue used in design, fashion, and visual descriptions
- figurative sense meaning "valuable," "prime," or "fortunate" when used in idioms and set expressions
- appears in compound terms to name specific concepts (e.g., periods, opportunities, or product names) that emphasize rarity or high value
How to use it
Used across domains: in industry and finance to name the metal and bullion, in art and fashion to describe a gold color or finish, and in everyday and literary language to create metaphors; in formal writing it appears in technical compounds and set phrases, while casual speech often prefers the shorter 金 (kin) for everyday references to gold jewelry or money, and 黄金の (ougon no) is used attributively to modify nouns.
Variants and close terms
- 金 (kin) — gold (common everyday term)
- 金色 (kiniro) — golden color
- 黄金色 (ougonshoku) — gold-colored, shade name
- 銀 (gin) — silver (antonym in the sense of a different precious metal)
Composition
- 黄 — the concept of "yellow," a hue associated with brightness and warmth
- 金 — "metal," "money," or specifically "gold"; together they convey the idea of a yellow metal, i.e., gold
Origin
The concept and word entered Japanese along with Chinese characters; gold was used in Japan from ancient times for decoration and ritual objects, becoming prominent in the Asuka–Nara period and later court art, while the compound writing stabilized as the kanji system spread.
Word class
noun (名詞), used attributively with の to modify nouns