銅

See also: 铜

銅	U+9285, 銅 CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-9285

← 銄
[U+9284]

CJK Unified Ideographs

銆 →
[U+9286]

Translingual

Han character

銅 (Kangxi radical 167, 金+6, 14 strokes, cangjie input 金月一口 (CBMR), four-corner 8712₀, composition ⿰釒同)

References

Kangxi Dictionary: page 1304, character 5
Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 40361
Dae Jaweon: page 1806, character 5
Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 6, page 4196, character 7
Unihan data for U+9285

Chinese

trad.		銅
simp.		铜

Chemical element
Cu
Previous: *鎳／镍 (niè) (Ni)*
Next: *鋅／锌 (xīn) (Zn)*

Wikipedia has articles on:

銅 (Written Standard Chinese^?)
銅 (Cantonese)
銅 (Classical)
銅 (Gan)
thùng (Hakka)
dè̤ng (Eastern Min)
tâng (Southern Min)
铜 (Wu)

Glyph origin

Historical forms of the character 銅
Shuowen Jiezi (compiled in Han)
Small seal script

Characters in the same phonetic series (同) (Zhengzhang, 2003)

	Old Chinese
鮦	duʔ, doːŋ, *doŋʔ
侗	tʰoːŋ, tʰoːŋʔ, *doːŋ
恫	tʰoːŋ, doːŋs
痌	*tʰoːŋ
同	*doːŋ
仝	zlon, doːŋ
銅	*doːŋ
桐	*doːŋ
峒	doːŋ, doːŋs
硐	doːŋ, doːŋʔ
筒	doːŋ, doːŋs
洞	doːŋ, doːŋs
烔	*doːŋ
挏	doːŋ, doːŋʔ
酮	doːŋ, doːŋʔ
鲖
眮	doːŋ, doːŋʔ, *doːŋs
衕	doːŋ, doːŋs
哃	*doːŋ
絧	doːŋ, doːŋs
姛	*doːŋʔ
詷	doːŋʔ, doːŋs
胴	*doːŋs
駧	*doːŋs
迵	*doːŋs
戙	*doːŋs

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *doːŋ) : semantic 金 (“metal”) + phonetic 同 (OC *doːŋ).

Etymology

Since metals are typically associated with color, the word is probably related to 彤 (OC *l'uːŋ, “red”) (Schuessler, 2007).

The word "copper" occurs in some Southeast Asian languages with initial l- (Sagart, 1999). Examples include Zhuang luengz, Bouyei luangz and Bu-Nao Bunu loŋ², which are early loans from Chinese.

Tibetan དོང་ཙེ (dong tse, “Chinese copper coin”) was borrowed from Chinese 銅子／铜子 (tóngzǐ).

Pronunciation

Mandarin
(Standard)
(Pinyin): tóng (tong²)

(Zhuyin): ㄊㄨㄥˊ

(Chengdu, Sichuanese Pinyin): tong²
Cantonese
(Guangzhou–Hong Kong, Jyutping): tung⁴

(Taishan, Wiktionary): huung³
Gan (Wiktionary): tung²
Hakka
(Sixian, PFS): thùng

(Meixian, Guangdong): tung²
Jin (Wiktionary): tung¹
Northern Min (KCR): dǒ̤ng
Eastern Min (BUC): dè̤ng
Puxian Min (Pouseng Ping'ing): dorng² / dang²
Southern Min
(Hokkien, POJ): tông / tâng

(Teochew, Peng'im): dang⁵
Wu (Shanghai, Wugniu): ⁶don
Xiang (Changsha, Wiktionary): dong²

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: tóng
  - Zhuyin: ㄊㄨㄥˊ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: tóng
  - Wade–Giles: tʻung²
  - Yale: túng
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: torng
  - Palladius: тун (tun)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /tʰʊŋ³⁵/
- (Chengdu)
  - Sichuanese Pinyin: tong²
  - Scuanxua Ladinxua Xin Wenz: tung
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /tʰoŋ²¹/
Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
  - Jyutping: tung⁴
  - Yale: tùhng
  - Cantonese Pinyin: tung⁴
  - Guangdong Romanization: tung⁴
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /tʰʊŋ²¹/
- (Taishanese, Taicheng)
  - Wiktionary: huung³
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /hɵŋ²²/
Gan
- (Nanchang)
  - Wiktionary: tung²
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /tʰuŋ²⁴/
Hakka
- (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Neipu)
  - Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: thùng
  - Hakka Romanization System: tung^ˇ
  - Hagfa Pinyim: tung²
  - Sinological IPA: /tʰuŋ¹¹/
- (Meixian)
  - Guangdong: tung²
  - Sinological IPA: /tʰʊŋ¹¹/
Jin
- (Taiyuan)⁺
  - Wiktionary: tung¹
  - Sinological IPA (old-style): /tʰuŋ¹¹/
Northern Min
- (Jian'ou)
  - Kienning Colloquial Romanized: dǒ̤ng
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /tɔŋ²¹/
Eastern Min
- (Fuzhou)
  - Bàng-uâ-cê: dè̤ng
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /tøyŋ⁵³/
Puxian Min
- (Putian, Xianyou)
  - Pouseng Ping'ing: dorng²
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /tɒŋ¹³/
- (Putian, Xianyou)
  - Pouseng Ping'ing: dang²
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /taŋ¹³/

Note:

dorng2 - literary;
dang2 - vernacular.

Southern Min
- (Hokkien)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: tông / tâng
  - Tâi-lô: tông / tâng
  - Phofsit Daibuun: doong, daang
  - IPA (Xiamen): /tɔŋ²⁴/, /taŋ²⁴/
  - IPA (Quanzhou): /tɔŋ²⁴/, /taŋ²⁴/
  - IPA (Zhangzhou): /tɔŋ¹³/, /taŋ¹³/
  - IPA (Taipei): /tɔŋ²⁴/, /taŋ²⁴/
  - IPA (Kaohsiung): /tɔŋ²³/, /taŋ²³/

Note:

tông - literary;
tâng - vernacular.

(Teochew)
- Peng'im: dang⁵
- Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: tâng
- Sinological IPA ^(key): /taŋ⁵⁵/

Wu
- (Northern: Shanghai)
  - Wugniu: ⁶don
  - MiniDict: don^去
  - Wiktionary Romanisation (Shanghai): ³don
  - Sinological IPA (Shanghai): /doŋ²³/
Xiang
- (Changsha)
  - Wiktionary: dong²
  - Sinological IPA ^(key) (old-style): /tʊŋ¹³/
  - Sinological IPA ^(key) (new-style): /tən¹³/

Middle Chinese: duwng

Rime
Character	銅
Reading #	1/1
Initial (聲)	定 (7)
Final (韻)	東 (1)
Tone (調)	Level (Ø)
Openness (開合)	Open
Division (等)	I
Fanqie	徒紅切
Baxter	duwng
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/duŋ/
Pan Wuyun	/duŋ/
Shao Rongfen	/duŋ/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/dəwŋ/
Li Rong	/duŋ/
Wang Li	/duŋ/
Bernhard Karlgren	/dʱuŋ/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	tóng
Expected Cantonese Reflex	tung⁴

Old Chinese
(Baxter–Sagart): /*[l]ˤoŋ/

(Zhengzhang): /*doːŋ/

Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	銅
Reading #	1/1
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	tóng
Middle Chinese	‹ duwng ›
Old Chinese	/*[l]ˁoŋ/
English	bronze, copper
Notes for Old Chinese notations in the Baxter–Sagart system: * Parentheses "()" indicate uncertain presence; * Square brackets "[]" indicate uncertain identity, e.g. [t] as coda may in fact be -t or -p; Angle brackets "<>" indicate infix; * Hyphen "-" indicates morpheme boundary; * Period "." indicates syllable boundary.

Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character	銅
Reading #	1/1
No.	12448
Phonetic component	同
Rime group	東
Rime subdivision	0
Corresponding MC rime	同
Old Chinese	/*doːŋ/

Definitions

銅

Synonyms

Dialectal synonyms of 銅 (“copper”) [map]

Variety	Location	Words edit
Classical Chinese		銅
Formal (Written Standard Chinese)		銅
Northeastern Mandarin	Beijing	銅
	Taiwan	銅
	Singapore	銅
Jilu Mandarin	Jinan	銅
Central Plains Mandarin	Xi'an	銅
Southwestern Mandarin	Chengdu	銅
	Wuhan	銅
	Guilin	銅
Jianghuai Mandarin	Yangzhou	銅
Jianghuai Mandarin	Hefei	銅
Cantonese	Guangzhou	銅
	Hong Kong	銅
	Hong Kong (San Tin; Weitou)	銅
	Hong Kong (Kam Tin; Weitou)	銅
	Hong Kong (Ting Kok)	銅
	Hong Kong (Tung Ping Chau)	銅
	Macau	銅
	Guangzhou (Panyu)	銅
	Guangzhou (Huashan, Huadu)	銅
	Guangzhou (Conghua)	銅
	Guangzhou (Zengcheng)	銅
	Foshan	銅
	Foshan (Shatou, Nanhai)	銅
	Foshan (Shunde)	銅
	Foshan (Sanshui)	銅
	Foshan (Mingcheng, Gaoming)	銅
	Zhongshan (Shiqi)	銅
	Zhuhai (Qianshan, Xiangzhou)	銅
	Zhuhai (Shangheng, Doumen; Tanka)	銅
	Zhuhai (Doumen)	銅
	Jiangmen (Baisha)	銅
	Jiangmen (Xinhui)	銅
	Taishan	銅
	Kaiping (Chikan)	銅
	Enping (Niujiang)	銅
	Heshan (Yayao)	銅
	Dongguan	銅
	Shenzhen (Shajing, Bao'an)	銅
	Yangjiang	銅
	Kuala Lumpur (Guangfu)	銅
Gan	Nanchang	銅
Hakka	Meixian	銅
	Huizhou (Huicheng; Bendihua)	銅
	Dongguan (Qingxi)	銅
	Shenzhen (Shatoujiao)	銅
	Zhongshan (Nanlang Heshui)	銅
	Guangzhou (Lütian, Conghua)	銅
	Hong Kong	銅
	Senai (Huiyang)	銅
Jin	Taiyuan	銅
Northern Min	Jian'ou	銅
Eastern Min	Fuzhou	銅
Southern Min	Xiamen	銅
	Chaozhou	銅
	Bangkok (Teochew)	銅
	Johor Bahru (Teochew)	銅
Zhongshan Min	Zhongshan (Longdu, Shaxi)	銅
Wu	Suzhou	銅
Wu	Wenzhou	銅
Xiang	Changsha	銅
Xiang	Shuangfeng	銅

Compounds

古銅／古铜
古銅色／古铜色 (gǔtóngsè)
古銅輝石／古铜辉石
吹銅／吹铜
崔烈銅臭／崔烈铜臭
斑光銅礦／斑光铜矿
斑銅礦／斑铜矿 (bāntóngkuàng)
歹銅舊錫／歹铜旧锡 (pháiⁿ-tâng-kū-siah) (Hokkien)
氧化亞銅／氧化亚铜 (yǎnghuàyàtóng)
氧化銅／氧化铜 (yǎnghuàtóng)
氯化銅／氯化铜 (lǜhuàtóng)
渾身銅臭／浑身铜臭
炮銅／炮铜
煉銅／炼铜 (liàntóng)
熟銅／熟铜
白銅／白铜 (báitóng)
破銅爛鐵／破铜烂铁 (pòtónglàntiě)
硫酸銅／硫酸铜 (liúsuāntóng)
硝酸銅／硝酸铜 (xiāosuāntóng)
碳酸銅／碳酸铜
籠銅／笼铜
紅銅／红铜 (hóngtóng)
紫銅／紫铜 (zǐtóng)
自然銅／自然铜
荊棘銅駝／荆棘铜驼
見鐘不打，更去煉銅／见钟不打，更去炼铜
赤銅／赤铜 (chìtóng)
赤銅礦／赤铜矿
輝銅礦／辉铜矿
針灸銅人／针灸铜人 (zhēnjiǔ tóng rén)
銅人／铜人 (tóngrén)
銅像／铜像 (tóngxiàng)
銅匠／铜匠 (tóngjiàng)
銅印／铜印
銅器／铜器 (tóngqì)
銅器時代／铜器时代
銅圓／铜圆
銅壺／铜壶 (tónghú)
銅壺滴漏／铜壶滴漏
銅婚／铜婚
銅官／铜官 (Tóngguān)
銅山／铜山 (tóngshān)
銅山西崩，洛鐘東應／铜山西崩，洛钟东应
銅幣／铜币 (tóngbì)
銅斗兒／铜斗儿
銅斗兒家緣／铜斗儿家缘
銅斗家私
銅斗家計／铜斗家计
銅板／铜板 (tóngbǎn)
銅柱／铜柱
銅模／铜模
銅活／铜活 (tónghuó)
銅烏／铜乌
銅牆鐵壁／铜墙铁壁 (tóngqiángtiěbì)
銅版／铜版 (tóngbǎn)
銅版畫／铜版画
銅版紙／铜版纸
銅牌／铜牌 (tóngpái)
銅獸／铜兽
銅琵鐵板／铜琵铁板
銅瓦／铜瓦
銅盆撞了鐵掃帚／铜盆撞了铁扫帚
銅礦／铜矿 (tóngkuàng)
銅筋鐵肋／铜筋铁肋
銅筋鐵骨／铜筋铁骨
銅管／铜管 (tóngguǎn)
銅管樂器／铜管乐器 (tóngguǎn yuèqì)
銅管樂隊／铜管乐队 (tóngguǎn yuèduì)
銅簧／铜簧
銅粉／铜粉
銅精／铜精
銅綠／铜绿 (tónglǜ)
銅線／铜线 (tóngxiàn)
銅臭／铜臭 (tóngxiù)
銅臭味／铜臭味 (tóngxiùwèi)
銅葉／铜叶
銅落／铜落
銅虎符／铜虎符
銅街／铜街
銅豌豆／铜豌豆
銅鈸／铜钹
銅銲／铜焊
銅錢／铜钱 (tóngqián)
銅鎚／铜锤
銅鏡／铜镜 (tóngjìng)
銅鐘／铜钟
銅鑼／铜锣 (tóngluó)
銅鑼燒／铜锣烧 (tóngluóshāo)
銅陵／铜陵 (Tónglíng)
銅雀／铜雀
銅雀臺／铜雀台
銅頭鐵額／铜头铁额
銅駝／铜驼
銅駝荊棘／铜驼荆棘
銅駝陌／铜驼陌
銅黛／铜黛
銅鼓／铜鼓 (tónggǔ)
銅龍／铜龙
銅龍門／铜龙门
鋁青銅／铝青铜
鍼灸銅人／针灸铜人
鐵壁銅牆／铁壁铜墙
鐵心銅膽／铁心铜胆
鐵膽銅心／铁胆铜心
鐵郭銅關／铁郭铜关
鐵銅／铁铜 (Tiětóng)
青銅／青铜 (qīngtóng)
青銅器／青铜器 (qīngtóngqì)
青銅器時代／青铜器时代 (Qīngtóngqì Shídài)
黃銅／黄铜 (huángtóng)
黝銅礦／黝铜矿

Descendants

Sino-Xenic (銅):

→ Japanese: 銅(どう) (dō)
→ Korean: 동(銅) (dong)
→ Vietnamese: đồng (銅, “copper; dong (Vietnamese currency)”) (see there for further descendants)

Others:

→ Khmer: ទង់ (tŭəng, “bronze; red copper; alloy of copper and gold”), ថង (thɑɑng, “gold”), ទង (tɔɔng, “gold”)
→ Lao: ທອງ (thǭng, “copper; gold; metal”)
→ Thai: ทอง (tɔɔng, “gold”)
→ Zhuang: doengz (“copper; brass”)

References

“銅”, in 漢語多功能字庫 (Multi-function Chinese Character Database)‎^[1], 香港中文大學 (the Chinese University of Hong Kong), 2014–
Dictionary of Chinese Character Variants (教育部異體字字典), A04291
“Entry #10937”, in 教育部臺灣台語常用詞辭典 [Dictionary of Frequently-Used Taiwanese Taigi] (overall work in Mandarin and Hokkien), Ministry of Education, R.O.C., 2024.

Japanese

Kanji

銅

(Fifth grade kyōiku kanji)

Readings

Go-on: ずう (zū)^{←づう (duu, historical)}
Kan-on: とう (tō)
Kan’yō-on: どう (dō, Jōyō)
Kun: あかがね (akagane, 銅)

Compounds

銅(どう)鐸(たく) (dōtaku): dōtaku
銅(どう)製(せい) (dōsei): coppern
銅(どう)牌(はい) (dōhai): bronze medal
銅(ど)鑼(ら) (dora): gong
黄(おう)銅(どう) (ōdō), 黄(こう)銅(どう) (kōdō): brass
青(せい)銅(どう) (seidō): bronze

Etymology 1

Chemical element
Cu
Previous: ニッケル (nikkeru) (Ni)
Next: 亜(あ)鉛(えん) (aen) (Zn)

Japanese Wikipedia has an article on:

銅

Wikipedia ^ja

English Wikipedia has an article on:

Copper

Wikipedia

Kanji in this term
銅
どう Grade: 5
kan'yōon

From Middle Chinese 銅 (MC duwng). Compare modern Min Nan reading tông, Wu don, Xiang dong².

Pronunciation

(Tokyo) どー [dóꜜò] (Atamadaka – [1])^[1]^[2]
IPA^(key): [do̞ː]

Noun

銅(どう) • (dō)

copper, Cu

Etymology 2

Kanji in this term
銅
あかがね Grade: 5
kun'yomi

Compound of 赤 (aka, “red”) +‎ 金 (kane, “metal”).^[3]^[1] The kane changes to gane as an instance of rendaku (連濁).

First cited to the Nihon Shoki of 720 CE.^[3]

Pronunciation

(Tokyo) あかがね [àkágáné] (Heiban – [0])^[1]^[2]
IPA^(key): [a̠ka̠ɡa̠ne̞]

Noun

銅(あかがね) • (akagane)

copper, Cu

Etymology 3

Kanji in this term
銅
あか Grade: 5
kun'yomi

Abbreviation of akagane.^[1]

Pronunciation

(Tokyo) あか [áꜜkà] (Atamadaka – [1])^[1]^[2]
IPA^(key): [a̠ka̠]

Noun

銅(あか) • (aka)

copper, Cu

References

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 ^1.2 ^1.3 ^1.4 Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
↑ ^2.0 ^2.1 ^2.2 NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute, editor (1998), NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 [NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary] (in Japanese), Tokyo: NHK Publishing, Inc., →ISBN
↑ ^3.0 ^3.1 Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典（新装版） [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN

Korean

Hanja

銅 (eumhun 구리 동 (guri dong))

hanja form^? of 동 (“copper”)
hanja form^? of 동 (“Vietnamese dong”)

Vietnamese

Han character

銅: Hán Việt readings: đồng
銅: Nôm readings: đòng, đồng

chữ Hán form of đồng (“copper”).

References

Lê Sơn Thanh, "Nom-Viet.dat", WinVNKey (details)

[DJR-1] 1.0 ^1.1 ^1.2 ^1.3 ^1.4 Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN

[NHK-2] 2.0 ^2.1 ^2.2 NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute, editor (1998), NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 [NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary] (in Japanese), Tokyo: NHK Publishing, Inc., →ISBN

[KDJ-3] 3.0 ^3.1 Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典（新装版） [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN

[1]

[2]

[3]