锆 (gào) · zirconium (chemical element, Zr, atomic number 40)

Meanings

1 zirconium (chemical element, Zr, atomic number 40)

Characters

锆

gào

zirconium (chemical element)

Examples

HSK 7-9

锆是一种耐腐蚀的金属，常用于核工业。

Gào shì yī zhǒng nài fǔshí de jīnshǔ, cháng yòng yú hégōngyè.

Zirconium is a corrosion-resistant metal commonly used in the nuclear industry.

HSK 7-9

锆石是一种常见的宝石矿物。

Gào shí shì yī zhǒng chángjiàn de bǎoshí kuàngwù.

Zircon is a common gemstone mineral.

Tips

memory

锆 has the metal radical 钅 on the left, confirming it's a metal element. The right component 告 gives the phonetic hint - gào.

Components

radical

钅 jīn

metal (left-side form)

Metal radical on the left marks 锆 as a metallic element - zirconium. Modern Chinese coined element names by combining 钅 with a phonetic; this gives a glance-readable signal that the character is a metal. Same pattern produces 铁 iron, 铜 copper, 锌 zinc.

phonetic

告 gào

to tell; announce

Right side supplies the sound: gào matches gào exactly. 告 is a pure phonetic here, picked by 20th-century chemists for the syllable that names this element.