How to Write 金 (jīn) — Meaning “Gold; metal”

Think of the character as a person wearing a tall hat (the top part, like 人) and carrying a bag of gold below (the four dots and strokes). Another trick is to remember that 金 looks like a piece of jewelry with a crown on top — valuable like gold. This visual helps you recall its meaning of precious metal.

Start with the top part: write the left-downward stroke, then the right-downward stroke to form the roof-like shape, then the horizontal line underneath. The bottom part has two horizontal lines and a vertical stroke down the center, ending with a dot on each side — be careful not to make the bottom too wide. A common mistake is writing the bottom strokes too close together or missing one of the side dots.

金 means gold or metal, while 釜 (fǔ) means a cooking pot or cauldron. Visually, 釜 has a larger top component (父, father) above the same bottom part (金), whereas 金 stands alone without that extra component. Remember that 釜 is a specific object made of metal, while 金 is the metal itself.

金 appears in many financial and daily words, such as 现金 (xiànjīn, cash) and 金色 (jīnsè, gold color). Culturally, gold symbolizes wealth and luck in Chinese tradition, so 金 is often used in idioms like 金玉满堂 (gold and jade fill the hall, meaning abundant wealth). It is also a common surname in China.

Common words containing 金 include: 金色 (jīn sè) — Gold color; 现金 (xiàn jīn) — cash; 金子 (jīn zi) — Gold.