"Full" names of metals


When written as a standalone kanji, the following metals have longer, "full"
names (based on their colour):

>   * [金]{こがね} → こがね
>   * [銀]{しろがね} → しろがね
>   * [銅]{あかがね} → あかがね
>   * [鉄]{くろがね} → くろがね
>

In my Japanese Bible, there are various places where they appear in lists of
materials, etc. I rather prefer to read them by these full names, but I don't
know if that is correct or not. Are these full names ever used in modern
Japanese? If so, in what kind of situations are they read this way?




Your aesthetic preference is one thing, but whether or not others would
understand what you said is another.

Most adult speakers would surely understand こがね but not too many would
understand the other three. Even with こがね, you will sound very strange though
we know what it means. We just do not use the kun-readings for these metal
names in our daily lives.

The kun-readings do sound cool and I like them myself, too, but they are
pretty much reserved for use in literature and the world of blacksmiths. If
you still want to use them, you would probably have to say the words in their
on-readings first, briefly explain your preference for the kun counterparts
before you start using them.

Trivia Information :

If you say しろがね out of nowhere, more people will think you said 白金 -- which is
an upper-class section of Tokyo -- than those who will think you meant
"silver". 白金 is officially read しろかね but most people pronounce it しろがね. The
posh ladies from that area are called シロガネーゼ. A cool word to know that Genki
will not teach you.




Your aesthetic preference is one thing, but whether or not others would
understand what you said is another.

Most adult speakers would surely understand こがね but not too many would
understand the other three. Even with こがね, you will sound very strange though
we know what it means. We just do not use the kun-readings for these metal
names in our daily lives.

The kun-readings do sound cool and I like them myself, too, but they are
pretty much reserved for use in literature and the world of blacksmiths. If
you still want to use them, you would probably have to say the words in their
on-readings first, briefly explain your preference for the kun counterparts
before you start using them.

Trivia Information :

If you say しろがね out of nowhere, more people will think you said 白金 -- which is
an upper-class section of Tokyo -- than those who will think you meant
"silver". 白金 is officially read しろかね but most people pronounce it しろがね. The
posh ladies from that area are called シロガネーゼ. A cool word to know that Genki
will not teach you.

