钢琴
gāngqín · HSK 5
piano
🎹 钢 = steel + 琴 = stringed instrument; a steel-stringed instrument
钢 (gāng) means steel and 琴 (qín) is an old word for a stringed/keyboard instrument. Together they name the piano — literally a steel-strung qin, reflecting its metal strings versus the silk strings of the ancient guqin.
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.
琴 — two 玉 (jade) on top + 今 (jīn) phonetic below
Originally a pictograph of a stringed instrument, showing strings stretched over a wooden body. The modern form reanalyzes the top as paired 玉 (jade), suggesting the precious tone of the instrument, while 今 at the bottom hints at the pronunciation qín. It refers to the ancient Chinese zither (guqin).