水銀
suigin[sɨiɡʲĩɴ]
The Japanese word for the chemical element mercury is 水銀 (suigin).
水銀 refers to the silvery-coloured, metallic chemical element with the atomic number 80. For example, the phrase Suigin no eikyō translates to "the influence of mercury".
Meaning: silvery-coloured, metallic chemical element with the atomic number 80 (noun)
What does it mean word for word?
The word 水銀 is composed of the characters for "water" (水) and "silver" (銀), literally meaning "water silver".
Which one should you use?
It is important to distinguish between the chemical element and the planet. Additionally, if you are referring to the Roman god Mercury, you would use メルクリウス or マーキュリー.
Related words
How do you pronounce it?
suigin
Did you know?
- In traditional Japanese alchemy and medicine, 水銀 was associated with the concept of immortality and used in various esoteric preparations.
- In historical Japanese texts like the 10th-century Wamyō Ruijushō, the word appeared as mizukane before the modern pronunciation was standardized.
- Japanese has entirely different words for the chemical 水銀 and the planet Mercury, which is called 水星 (water star).
Examples in context
- 水銀は液体です。suigine wa ekitai desu.Mercury is a liquid.
- 古い温度計には水銀が入っています。furui ondokei ni wa suigin ga haitte imasu.Old thermometers contain mercury.
- 水銀は毒性があります。suigin wa dokusei ga arimasu.Mercury is toxic.
Example conversation
Ren and Misaki are discussing science in a laboratory.
- 蓮 Renこの温度計の中の水銀が見えますか？kono ondokei no naka no suigin ga miemasu ka?Can you see the mercury inside this thermometer?
- 美咲 Misakiはい、とても銀色に輝いていますね。hai, totemo gin'iro ni kagayaite imasu ne.Yes, it is shining very silvery.
- 蓮 Ren水銀の扱いには注意してください。suigin no atsukai ni wa chuui shite kudasai.Please be careful when handling mercury.
- 美咲 Misaki分かりました、気をつけます。wakarimashita, ki o tsukemasu.I understand, I will be careful.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “mercury” translations and entries 水銀, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries 水銀, CC BY-SA 4.0.
