yuánzì Chinese characters of the chemical elements
耳

耳 ěr

“ear; merely, only; handle; Kangxi radical 128”

On its own, an ordinary character; Cantonese ji5. Readings and gloss from the Unicode Unihan database.

Carries Erbium

钅 metal → solid metal
+
耳 ěr
=
铒 ěr · Er 68

Transliterates syllable 1 of er·bium: erbium → ěr.

The element keeps the component’s reading exactly.