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人民币 (rén mín bì) — Renminbi (RMB), Chinese Yuan (CNY)

Definition

noun
Renminbi (RMB)Chinese Yuan (CNY)

Examples

  • 人民币？
    Jīn tiān yì měi yuán kě yǐ huàn duō shǎo rén mín bì?
    How many RMB can one US dollar be exchanged for today?
  • 。
    Zài zhōng guó mǎi dōng xī yòng rén mín bì hěn fāng biàn.
    It's very convenient to use RMB to buy things in China.
  • 人民币。
    Tā měi gè yuè néng zhèng wǔ qiān rén mín bì.
    He can earn five thousand RMB every month.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

人民the people
人rénperson民mínpeople
联合Coordinate
币bìcurrency

人民 as the people combined with 币 as currency names the people's currency.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The shape of 人 shows a side view of a standing person, with an arm and a leg.

Open 人 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The early form of 民 shows an eye pierced by a sharp cross-shaped implement, possibly linked to an injured or unclear eye.

Open 民 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 幣; 币 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
巾巾jīncloth
Sound part声符shēngfú
敝
敝bì幣bì
Same sound today

The traditional form 幣 combines 敝 (which gives the sound) and 巾 (cloth), and meant silk given as a gift or sacrifice; the simplified 币 is a shorthand.

Open 币 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 5HSK 2.0 Level 4

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