钢
gāng · HSK 7
steel
⚙️ 钢 = 钅(metal radical) + 冈 (gāng, ridge) — phonetic clue: gāng
The 钅radical marks it as a metal; 冈 supplies the sound gāng. Steel is the hardened metal — think of it as the metal-on-the-ridge that gives 钢铁 (steel-iron) its strength.
钢 — metal radical 钅 + 冈 (gāng, ridge)
A semantic-phonetic compound: the metal radical 钅 (simplified from 金) signals the meaning 'metal,' while 冈 supplies the sound 'gāng.' Originally referring to refined, hardened iron, 钢 came to mean 'steel,' and by extension the qualities of strength and rigidity.