地租 (dì zū) — land rent, ground rent | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

Rent paid for the use of land — a formal/economic term, usually in the context of agricultural land, leases, or property economics, rather than rent for a house or apartment (which is 房租).

noun

land rentground rent

Examples

地租。
Nóng mín měi nián dōu yào gěi dì zhǔ jiāo dì zū.
Farmers have to pay land rent to the landlord every year.
地租，。
Zhè kuài dì de dì zū tài gāo le, nóng mín men fù dān bù qǐ.
The rent on this piece of land is too high; the farmers can't afford it.
，地租。
Tā men qiān le shí nián de hé tong, měi nián de dì zū shì wǔ wàn yuán.
They signed a ten-year contract, and the annual land rent is 50,000 yuan.

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.

地 means land and 租 means rent; together they name rent paid for land.

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.

土也地

Meaning part形符xíngfú

土土tǔearth

Sound part声符shēngfú

也

也yě地dì

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

地 is built from 土 (earth) and 也, which gives its sound.

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

禾且租

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

且

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

租 uses 禾 (grain) because land rent was paid in grain, and 且 shows the pronunciation.

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