Meaning & readings

mineral, ore

On’yomi コウ
Kun’yomi あらがね

Origin

This character combines two parts. The left side is the metal radical (), which classifies the character as relating to metal, minerals, or ore. The right side () serves as a sound hint, suggesting the character's pronunciation without contributing to the meaning. Together, the metal classifier paired with this sound element creates the character for ore or mineral—precious metals and minerals found in the earth that belong to the broader category of metal-related substances.

AI-generated (claude-haiku-4-5), not yet reviewed. Formation type (automated guess): Phono-semantic (meaning + sound hint).

13 strokes

Components

  • radical left
  • sound hint right

A sound hint component points at the character’s pronunciation, not its meaning — don’t read a meaning into it.

Common words

  • 鉱業 こうぎょう mining industry
  • 鉱山 こうざん mine (ore)
  • 鉱石 こうせき ore; mineral
  • 鉱物 こうぶつ mineral
  • 鉄鉱 てっこう iron ore
  • 炭鉱 たんこう coal mine; (coal) pit
  • 鉱区 こうく mining area; mine lot
  • 溶鉱炉 ようこうろ smelting furnace; blast furnace

Reference

Strokes
13
Kangxi radical
167
Grade
Grade 5 (Kyōiku)
Frequency rank
#1376 (newspapers)
Former JLPT
level 2
Unicode
U+09271