钥 (yào) is a Chinese character meaning “key (for a lock)”. It is written from 钅 (metal radical (left-side form of 金)) and 月 (moon; month), side by side, and takes 9 strokes.
Build the character for “key”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
钅 + 月
Left–right structure
Structure from: 《简化字总表》：鑰→钥。繁体「鑰」从金、龠声；简化后右部改作记号「月」，不表音。
Memory aid
A small piece of metal (钅) you fumble for under the moon (月) at your front door. Both parts really are in this character — metal on the left, moon on the right — but the moon here is only a simplified sign, not a sound or a meaning.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
9 strokes
In real words
- 钥匙yào shikey钥 = yào
Go deeper
All readings
key
key (for a lock); (figuratively) the crucial point
开锁的东西；比喻事情的关键之处。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 钥匙yào shikey钥 = yào
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 钥 mean?
钥 (yào) means key (for a lock); (figuratively) the crucial point.
How do you pronounce 钥?
It is pronounced yào.
What parts is 钥 made of?
钅 (metal radical (left-side form of 金)) and 月 (moon; month), side by side. The recorded source is: 《简化字总表》：鑰→钥。繁体「鑰」从金、龠声；简化后右部改作记号「月」，不表音。. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 钥 have?
9. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 钥?
钅. The radical is how the character is filed in a dictionary — it is not the whole story of how the character is built.
What words use 钥?
Common ones are 钥匙. The reading of 钥 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.