鉱物（こうぶつ、koubutsu）
- mineral

The Japanese word 鉱物 (こうぶつ, kōbutsu) means "mineral." It refers to any naturally occurring, inorganic solid substance with a defined chemical composition and a crystalline structure. Minerals are the building blocks of rocks and are found in various forms, such as gems, ores, and common materials like quartz and feldspar. The word covers a vast array of materials from the earth's crust.

⚫︎ 鉱物は、地球の地殻を構成する重要な要素です。 Translation: Minerals are important elements that make up the Earth's crust. ⚫︎ この博物館には、珍しい鉱物のコレクションがあります。 Translation: This museum has a collection of rare minerals. ⚫︎ 鉄鉱石は、金属の鉄を抽出するための重要な鉱物です。 Translation: Iron ore is an important mineral for extracting the metal iron.

You would use 鉱物 when discussing geology, earth science, or the properties and identification of minerals. It's used in academic contexts, museums, and when talking about the composition of rocks and the extraction of raw materials.

The word is written in kanji as 鉱物. The reading is こうぶつ (kōbutsu) in hiragana. There are no other common ways to write this word. The okurigana is standard, with no variations.

There are no direct synonyms in Japanese that carry the exact same meaning as 鉱物. However, the term 石(いし, ishi), which means "stone" or "rock," could be used more generally to refer to some aspects of minerals. Specific types of minerals might be referred to by their individual names (e.g., 金(きん, kin) "gold", 水晶(すいしょう, suishō) "quartz").

There are no direct antonyms for 鉱物. However, you could consider the opposite to be organic substances or living things.

この宝石は美しい色を持つ鉱物です。 ・Translation: This gemstone is a mineral with a beautiful color. ・Explanation: This sentence describes a gemstone as a mineral, highlighting its color.

地質学者は、さまざまな種類の鉱物を研究しています。 ・Translation: Geologists study various types of minerals. ・Explanation: This sentence introduces the relationship between geology and the study of minerals.

The word 鉱物 is composed of two kanji: 鉱(こう, kō), meaning "ore" or "mine," and 物(ぶつ, butsu), meaning "thing" or "object." Therefore, it literally means "ore thing" or "mine thing," referring to substances extracted from mines and the earth's crust.