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大款 (dà kuǎn) — (colloquial) rich person, tycoon; (colloquial) a large sum of money

Definition

Colloquial slang for a wealthy person, literally 'big [spending] style' — used for nouveau riche types, with a slightly informal, even jokey edge compared to plain 富. Often pairs with the measure word 个.

noun
(colloquial) rich persontycoon(colloquial) a large sum of money
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • ，大款。
    Tā zhuàn le hěn duō qián, chéng le dà kuǎn.
    He made a lot of money and became a tycoon.
  • 大款。
    Tā shǒu lǐ yǒu yì bǐ dà kuǎn.
    He has a large sum of money in hand.
  • 大款。
    Nà ge dà kuǎn mǎi le yí dòng bié shù.
    That tycoon bought a villa.

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.

大dàbig
款kuǎnmoney

大 means big, and 款 refers to money, so the word denotes a person or sum with a lot of money.

Characters in this word

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

The form 大 is a picture of a person standing and facing forward, not of someone stretching their arms.

Open 大 →

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
欠欠qiànlacking, desire
Sound part声符shēngfú
柰
柰nài款kuǎn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

款 pairs 柰, a sound hint, with 欠, a part about lacking or desire.

Open 款 →
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