also: あかがね
noun
The chemical element copper. Used in everyday contexts, science, and industry.
銅は電気をよく通す金属です。
Copper is a metal that conducts electricity well.
この像は銅でできている。
This statue is made of copper.
noun
Only with reading どう
Abbreviation of 銅メダル. Used in sports and competition contexts.
See also: 銅メダル
彼はオリンピックで銅を獲得した。
He won a bronze medal at the Olympics.
Archaic or literary kanji for copper, literally 'red metal'. Rarely used in modern Japanese.
The kanji 銅 is a phono-semantic compound: 金 (metal) + 同 (phonetic). The reading どう is Sino-Japanese. The native Japanese word for copper is あかがね (赤金), literally 'red metal', now archaic.