Polonium character

In traditional Chinese writing, 釙 is the character for polonium; simplified Chinese writes the same element name as 钋. The element’s Latin-letter chemical symbol is Po. Older Chinese dictionaries also record 釙 as a word for metal or gold-bearing ore; Chinese chemistry later reused it for the element named for Poland.

Text symbol

What 釙 means

In a modern Chinese chemistry text, 釙 means polonium.

Older Chinese dictionaries, including Longkan Shoujing, Yupian, and Jiyun, record 釙 as a word for metal or gold-bearing ore. Marie and Pierre Curie named polonium for Poland in 1898; Chinese scientific terminology reused the existing character for the element.

Why are 釙 and 钋 read differently?

They are script counterparts; standard Mandarin readings differ by region.

Taiwan Mandarin reads 釙 as pò, roughly “po” with a falling pitch. Mainland standard Mandarin reads the simplified form 钋 as pō, roughly “po” held high and level.

How do you type 釙?

Choose the input for the reading and script you need.

For Taiwan Mandarin input, enter ㄆㄛˋ in Zhuyin (Bopomofo) or po4 in tone-number pinyin, then select 釙. For simplified Chinese input, enter po1 and select 钋. Cangjie, a shape-based Traditional Chinese input method, enters 釙 with CY (the code for 金卜).

Formal and technical; the surrounding chemistry or dictionary context tells you which sense of 釙 is intended.

In simplified Chinese, the expected element character is 钋; 釙 is the traditional form.