About
钸 is a modern phono-semantic compound created for the periodic table. It uses the semantic radical 钅, meaning metal, and the phonetic component 布 for its sound. The traditional form, 鈽, retains the unsimplified gold radical with the same phonetic element. This character was coined for the element plutonium. The radical indicates its metallic nature as an actinide, while the phonetic part approximates the first syllable of its Western name, adapting foreign terminology into Chinese chemical nomenclature.