How the character is built
The 钅 radical marks this as a metal, and that is not a coincidence of this one character — it holds right across the table. Read the radical first and the element's state at room temperature is already settled. It is 金 (jīn) squeezed into the space beside another component — radicals change shape by position, which is why 金 is hard to spot until you know to look for 钅.
Phonetic 耳 ěr 'ear'; in its older non-element sense the character reads èr.
This character is used for the element and little else — you are unlikely to meet it outside a chemistry classroom.
Where it sits among the 118
First isolated in 1843.
The full entry
For stroke order, example sentences, audio and the complete set of meanings, see the dictionary entry.
铒Erbium in the dictionary →Others built the same way
Every one of these carries 钅, and every one is a metal.