钾 (jiǎ) is a Chinese character meaning “potassium (chemical element K)”. It is written from 钅 (metal radical (left-side form of 金)) and 甲 (shell; armour; first of the ten heavenly stems), side by side, and takes 10 strokes.
Build the character for “potassium”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
钅 + 甲
Left–right structure
- 钅 metal radical (left-side form of 金) · jīn meaning
- 甲 shell; armour; first of the ten heavenly stems · jiǎ sound
Structure from: IDS ⿰钅甲（构建期拆分，hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：钅0–4、甲5–9）；形声：从金，甲声，现代化学元素用字（《现代汉语词典》：钾，金属元素）
Memory aid
The left side, 钅 (metal), tells you this is a metal. The right side, 甲 (jiǎ, shell; armour), carries the sound: jiǎ → jiǎ. Both parts are really in the character — together they name potassium, a metal element.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
10 strokes
In real words
- 钾肥jiǎ féipotash fertilizer钾 = jiǎ
Go deeper
All readings
potassium
potassium (chemical element K)
金属元素，符号 K，是植物生长需要的重要养分。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 钾肥jiǎ féipotash fertilizer钾 = jiǎ
Sound component
甲 family exact
Easy to confuse with
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 钾 mean?
钾 (jiǎ) means potassium (chemical element K).
How do you pronounce 钾?
It is pronounced jiǎ.
What parts is 钾 made of?
钅 (metal radical (left-side form of 金)) and 甲 (shell; armour; first of the ten heavenly stems), side by side. The recorded source is: IDS ⿰钅甲（构建期拆分，hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：钅0–4、甲5–9）；形声：从金，甲声，现代化学元素用字（《现代汉语词典》：钾，金属元素）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 钾 have?
10. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 钾?
金. 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 钾?
Common ones are 钾肥. The reading of 钾 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.