Abstract:There are four common metal words in Yi language: " gold" , " silver" , " copper" and " iron" . These words can refer to metal elements, values and precious metals. It can also be used in collocation with some morphemes or words to re ̄ fer to colors. This paper adopts the method of synchronic linguistics and diachronic linguistics to compare the similarities and differences in phonetics and semantics between the four metal words commonly used in the six major Yi dialect areas. It also compares these four words with other relative languages of the Tibeto-Burman language group to explore their ety ̄ mons. Comparisons with corresponding words of colors are also conducted to reveal some laws of phonetic revolution in Yi dialects to offer certain reference for the comparative study of kinship language. On the other hand, Yi people′s under ̄ standing of metals is analyzed to show their characteristic ethnic culture and unique thinking modes.