镁 (měi) · magnesium (chemical element, symbol Mg)

Meanings

1 magnesium (chemical element, symbol Mg)

Characters

镁

měi

magnesium (element)

Examples

HSK 5

镁光灯曾被广泛用于早期摄影。

Měiguāngdēng céng bèi guǎngfàn yòngyú zǎoqī shèyǐng.

Magnesium flash lamps were once widely used in early photography.

HSK 7-9

镁是一种轻质金属，常用于航空航天。

Měi shì yì zhǒng qīngzhì jīnshǔ, cháng yòngyú hángkōng hángtiān.

Magnesium is a lightweight metal commonly used in aerospace.

Tips

memory

镁 uses 钅 - the metal radical - confirming it's a metal element. The phonetic component 美 (beautiful) gives the pronunciation.

Components

radical

钅 jīn

metal; gold (radical form of 金)

Metal radical on the left - the side-form of 金. Indexes 镁 in the element family with 铁 iron, 铜 copper, 钠 sodium. Almost all single-character names for chemical elements get this radical, with the right side supplying the sound to transliterate the Western name.

phonetic

美 měi

beautiful

Right side 美 supplies the sound měi directly, no drift, chosen for the first syllable of "magnesium." Pure phonetic; the "beautiful" meaning plays no role here. The same phonetic appears across the family of měi homophones.