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外资 (wài zī) — foreign investment, foreign capital

Definition

外资 (wài zī) is 'foreign investment' as a noun — the money itself, not the act of investing. Use 投资 (tóu zī) for the verb 'to invest' or general 'investment'.

noun
foreign investmentforeign capital

Examples

  • 外资。
    Zhè ge guó jiā zhèng zài jī jí xī yǐn wài zī.
    This country is actively attracting foreign investment.
  • 外资。
    Hěn duō qǐ yè yī kào wài zī lái kuò dà shēng chǎn.
    Many companies rely on foreign capital to expand production.
  • 外资。
    wài zī Cù jìn le dāng dì jīng jì de fā zhǎn.
    Foreign investment has promoted the development of the local economy.

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.

外wàiforeign
资zīcapital

外 means foreign and 资 means capital, so 外资 refers to foreign capital or investment.

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
卜卜bǔ
Sound part声符shēngfú
月
月yuè外wài
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

外 pairs 卜 with 月, a crescent moon; in its older form, the 卜 part had a horizontal bar extending outward, giving the sense of outside.

Open 外 →

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 資; 资 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
貝貝bèishell-money
Sound part声符shēngfú
次
次cì資zī
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 資 puts 次 above 貝, a shell-money sign, to write property or resource; 次 supplies the sound. The simplified 资 is a shorthand, so do not treat its parts as historical.

Open 资 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9

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