How do you say "golden" in Japanese?

金

kin

Adjective Kanji

In Japanese, "golden" 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 (金) means gold and is the kanji for money. It also appears in kinyo (金曜日, Friday). Gold is associated with achievement and appears in temple decoration and traditional crafts.

Example sentence

金メダルは金色に輝いています。

Kin medaru wa kiniro ni kagayaite imasu.

The gold medal is gleaming gold.

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How to remember 金

Kin is both gold and money in Japanese. Picture shiny gold coins stacked together.

Related words

Browse all Japanese words in the glossary.

See more Japanese adjectives.

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 (金) means gold and is the kanji for money.

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.

"Golden" in other languages

Curated by Jack Ratcliffe

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