Chinese

Japanese

Etymology 1

/waugon/ → /wɔːgon/ → /oːgon/

From Middle Chinese 黃金 ‎(hwang kim, literally “yellow + metal”). Compare modern Cantonese wong⁴ gam¹.

Pronunciation

• On'yomi: Goon
• (Tokyo) おうごん [òógóń] (Heiban - [0])^[1]
• IPA^(key): [o̞ːɡ̃õ̞ɴ]

Noun

黄金 ‎(hiragana おうごん, romaji ōgon, historical hiragana わうごん)

1. The metal gold (Au).
2. The color gold.
3. Money, more specifically, the large 大判 ‎(ōban) gold coins formerly used in Japan.

Usage notes

The reading ōgon is the more common on'yomi for this term.

Synonyms

• (color):
  • 黄金色 (こがねいろ) ‎(kogane iro)
  • 金色 (きんいろ) ‎(kin'iro); 金色 (きんしょく) ‎(kinshoku); 金色 (こんじき) ‎(konjiki)

Etymology 2

/kwaukin/ → /kwɔːkin/ → /koːkin/

From Middle Chinese 黃金 ‎(hwang kim, literally “yellow + metal”). Compare modern Min Nan reading hông-kim.

Pronunciation

• On'yomi: Kan'on
• IPA^(key): [ko̞ːkʲĩɴ]

Noun

黄金 ‎(hiragana こうきん, romaji kōkin, historical hiragana くわうきん)

1. Money.
2. The metal gold (Au).
3. The color gold.

Usage notes

The kōkin reading appears to be obsolete. The reading ōgon is the more common on'yomi for this term.

Etymology 3

Compound of 黄 ‎(ki, “yellow”) +‎ 金 ‎(kane, “metal”).^[2]The kane changes to gane as an instance of rendaku (連濁).

Pronunciation

• Kun'yomi
• IPA^(key): [kʲiɡ̃ã̠ne̞]

Noun

黄金 ‎(hiragana きがね, romaji kigane)

1. The metal gold (Au).
2. Money. In modern Japanese, often refers to the large 大判 ‎(ōban) or smaller 小判 ‎(koban) gold coins formerly used in Japan.

Usage notes

The kigane reading appears to be rare. The reading kogane is the more common kun'yomi for this term.^[2][1]

Etymology 4

Variant of kigane above.^[2]

Pronunciation

• Kun'yomi
• IPA^(key): [kɯᵝɡ̃ã̠ne̞]

Alternative forms

• 金

Noun

黄金 ‎(hiragana くがね, romaji kugane)

1. The metal gold (Au).
2. Money.

Usage notes

The reading kogane is the more common kun'yomi for this term.

Etymology 5

Variant of kugane above.^[2][1]

Pronunciation

• Kun'yomi
• (Tokyo) こがね [kògáné] (Heiban - [0])^[1]
• IPA^(key): [ko̞ɡ̃ã̠ne̞]

Alternative forms

• 金

Noun

黄金 ‎(hiragana こがね, romaji kogane)

1. The metal gold (Au).
2. Money.
3. The color gold.
4. Short for 黄金の泥 ‎(kogane no dei): powdered gold suspended in a base and used as a paint.

Usage notes

The reading kogane is the more common kun'yomi for this term.

Synonyms

• (color):
  • 黄金色 (こがねいろ) ‎(kogane iro)
  • 金色 (きんいろ) ‎(kin'iro); 金色 (きんしょく) ‎(kinshoku); 金色 (こんじき) ‎(konjiki)
• (gold paint):
  • 小金 (こがね)の泥 (でい) ‎(kogane no dei)
  • 金泥 (こんでい) ‎(kondei)

References

1. 1 2 3 4 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, ISBN 4-385-13905-9
2. 1 2 3 4 1988, 国語大辞典（新装版） (Kokugo Dai Jiten, Revised Edition) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan