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份子 (fèn zi) — a monetary gift (one's share) given collectively for a wedding, funeral, or other major social occasion

Definition

份子 (fènzi) is almost always used with 钱 as 份子钱 — cash contributed collectively for a wedding, funeral, or similar event. It refers to one's individual share of the group gift, not the gift itself.

noun
a monetary gift (one's share) given collectively for a wedding, funeral, or other major social occasion
Measure word · 份

Examples

  • ，份子。
    Míng tiān qù cān jiā hūn lǐ, wǒ dé zhǔn bèi wǔ bǎi kuài qián de fèn zi qián.
    Tomorrow I'm going to a wedding, so I need to prepare a red gift of five hundred yuan.
  • ，份子。
    Gōng sī tóng shì jié hūn, dà jiā dōu chū le fèn zi qián.
    When a coworker got married, everyone contributed their gift money.
  • 份子，。
    Xiàn zài suí fèn zi de jīn é yuè lái yuè gāo, ràng rén yǒu diǎn yā lì.
    Nowadays the amount of gift money is getting higher and higher, which puts some pressure on people.

Origin

Derived word
构词法gòucífǎ
后缀hòuzhuìSuffix

A fixed syllable at the end that turns the word into a noun, a person, a place or the like.

份fènshare
子zǐsuffix

份 means share, and 子 turns it into the everyday word for a gift share.

Characters in this word

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

Meaning part形符xíngfú
亻Written in full as人rén
Sound part声符shēngfú
分
分fēn份fèn(r)
Same sound today

份 is built from 亻, the person form written in full as 人, and 分, which gives the sound.

Open 份 →

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

子 is drawn as a baby with a large head, arms stretched out, and legs wrapped in a blanket.

Open 子 →
Appears in
Chinese Culture & CustomsMoney & Currency

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