How do you say "gold" in Japanese?

金

kin

Noun Kanji

In Japanese, "gold" is 金 (kin).

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Pronunciation

金 is written using kanji. Romanised as kin, it sounds roughly like "kee-n" to an English ear.

Writing and usage

Kin is the kanji for gold, one of the most precious elements. It also serves as the generic term for money and metal wealth.

Example sentence

金はどこにありますか？

Kin wa doko ni arimasu ka?

Where is the gold?

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How to remember 金

The kanji 金 is a square nugget shape. Gold is treasure, wealth, precious metal. All wealth is 'kin' in Japanese.

Related words

Browse all Japanese words in the glossary.

See more farm words.

Questions about 金

How do you pronounce 金?

金 is romanised as kin. Say it roughly like "kee-n" in English. Each Japanese syllable has even weight, so keep the rhythm steady.

Is 金 formal or casual?

金 is a neutral, everyday word that works in both casual and polite speech. The level of formality comes from the sentence structure around it, not from the word itself.

How is 金 written in Japanese?

金 is written using kanji. Kin is the kanji for gold, one of the most precious elements.

Where can I practice Japanese words for free?

You can play free Japanese minigames in your browser on the Noun Town online games page, with no sign-up needed. Every word in the Japanese glossary also has native audio and an example sentence you can revisit any time.

"Gold" in other languages

Curated by Callan Ratcliffe

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