金属
きんぞく · kinzoku · JLPT N3 · noun
metallic element
🔩 金属 = gold + belonging: everything in gold's family
金 (kin) is gold, and 属 (zoku) means belonging to a category or genus. So metal is everything that belongs with gold. Sound hook: kinzoku is gold's kin, the whole metal family.
金 — roof 亼 + two dots (metal nuggets) + earth 土
Originally a pictograph of metal nuggets buried in the earth beneath a covering, with the two dots representing pieces of ore. It first meant 'metal' broadly, then narrowed to 'gold' as the most precious metal, and by extension 'money'.
属 — radical 尸 (corpse/body) + 禹/蜀 phonetic component
Originally written 屬, depicting a tail-like form attached to a body, suggesting connection or belonging. The 尸 radical relates to body/posture, while the lower component carried the sound. Over time the meaning extended from 'to join/attach' to 'belong to,' 'category,' and 'kind.'