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 叵 pǒ, a character rare enough that 钷 has essentially no other use.
This character is used for the element and little else — you are unlikely to meet it outside a chemistry classroom.
The element itself
Promethium is the hole in the lanthanides. Every one of its isotopes is radioactive with a short enough half-life that essentially none survives from the formation of the Earth, so unlike its neighbours it cannot simply be dug up — the tiny natural quantity that exists is generated continuously by uranium decay and amounts to a few hundred grams in the whole crust. It was finally identified among the fission products of a reactor, and named for the Titan who stole fire, which for an element born in a reactor is not a bad choice.
Where it sits among the 118
First isolated in 1945.
The full entry
For stroke order, example sentences, audio and the complete set of meanings, see the dictionary entry.
钷Promethium in the dictionary →Others built the same way
Every one of these carries 钅, and every one is a metal.