Phonosemantic compound. 金 represents the meaning and 建 represents the sound.
Components
Simplified (键)
Notes
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Similar Characters
劉 Liu (trad)蓥 polish (alt) (simp)釘 nail (trad)釜 pot針 needle (trad/jp)鉛 lead (trad/jp)鉞 broad-axe (trad)鉦 ancient (trad)鉴 looking (simp)銎 eyehole to hang an axe by銜 title (trad)銮 bells hung on horse (simp)銷 put up for sale (trad)鋈 silver plating錄 record (trad)錢 coin (trad)錯 mistaken (trad/jp)錶 watch (trad)錾 engraving tool (simp)鍛 forge (trad/jp)
Historical Evolution
鍵
Seal
Shuowen (~100 AD)
鍵
Clerical
Western Han dynasty (202 BC-9 AD)
鍵
Regular
Modern
Chinese
键 / 鍵 [jiàn]
key (on a piano or computer keyboard); button (on a mouse or other device); chemical bond; linchpin
Example Sentences
Japanese Names
鍵 か
Ka surname
鍵 かぎ
Kagi surname
鍵 かぎさき
Kagisaki surname
鍵 けん
Ken given name
CHINESE WORDS (38)
关键 [guānjiàn] #1,274
crucial point
键盘 [jiànpán] #9,741
keyboard
关键词 [guānjiàncí] #15,543
keyword
按键 [ànjiàn] #18,459
button or key (on a device)
快捷键 [kuàijiéjiàn] #47,158
(computer) shortcut key
关键字 [guānjiànzì] #40,550
keyword
琴键 [qínjiàn] #36,053
a piano key
化学键 [huàxuéjiàn] #42,560
chemical bond
共价键 [gòngjiàjiàn] #67,780
covalent bond (chemistry)
氢键 [qīngjiàn] #47,647
hydrogen bond
28 more
items
JAPANESE WORDS (50)
⭐ 鍵 [かぎ] #1,536
key
鍵をかける [かぎをかける] #11,489
to lock (a door, etc.)
鍵がかかる [かぎがかかる] #14,899
to become locked
鍵穴 [かぎあな] #18,224
keyhole
合鍵 [あいかぎ] #22,890
duplicate key
⭐ 鍵盤 [けんばん] #27,609
keyboard (of a piano, typewriter, etc.)
鍵を握る [かぎをにぎる] #31,731
to hold the key (to)
鍵かけ [かぎかけ] #44,098
key rack
鍵束 [かぎたば] #44,264
bunch of keys
鍵開け [かぎあけ] #46,225
lock-opening
40 more
items
KOREAN WORDS (3)