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千金 (qiān jīn) — a thousand pieces of gold; a huge sum of money; (honorific) someone else's daughter; extremely precious; invaluable

Definition

Literally 'a thousand pieces of gold.' Figuratively used as a respectful, literary way to call someone's daughter (您的千金 = 'your daughter'); also means 'priceless' for things like advice or time.

noun
a thousand pieces of golda huge sum of money(honorific) someone else's daughterextremely preciousinvaluable

Examples

  • 千金，。
    Tā jiā yǐ qián yǒu qiān jīn, dàn hòu lái dōu huā guāng le.
    His family used to have a fortune, but later spent it all.
  • 千金？
    Nín jiā de qiān jīn jīn nián duō dà le?
    How old is your daughter this year?
  • 千金，。
    Zhè jù zhōng gào jià zhí qiān jīn, nǐ yí dìng yào jì zhù.
    This piece of advice is invaluable — you must remember it.

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.

千qiānthousand
金jīngold

千 (thousand) and 金 (gold) combine as a thousand pieces of gold, suggesting a large sum or precious value.

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
一一yīone, signifying a number
Sound part声符shēngfú
人
人rén千qiān
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

千 pairs 人, whose sound was similar, with 一, a number stroke; the extra line was explained as extension, and a thousand is a number reached by extending counting.

Open 千 →

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

金 was drawn with marks for two pieces of metal, along with a part that gave its sound; it first meant copper, then metals and gold.

Open 金 →
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