悬赏 (xuán shǎng) — to offer a reward (for information, help, or a… | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

To publicly offer money or a reward in exchange for information, help, or the return of something lost — common in police notices and online postings.

verb

to offer a reward (for information, help, or a lost item)

Examples

悬赏。
Jǐng fāng xuán shǎng tí gōng xiàn suǒ de rén.
The police are offering a reward for anyone who provides clues.
，。
Gōng sī xuán le shǎng, xún zhǎo diū shī de wén jiàn.
The company offered a reward for finding the lost documents.
悬赏。
Tā zài wǎng shàng xuán shǎng jiě jué zhè ge jì shù wèn tí.
He posted a reward online to solve this technical problem.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

悬xuánhang up

赏shǎngreward

悬 means hang up and 赏 means reward, together it describes posting a reward.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 懸; 悬 is its simplified writing.

縣心懸

Meaning part形符xíngfú

心心xīnheart

Sound part声符shēngfú

縣

縣xiàn懸xuán

Same sound today

The traditional form 懸 adds 心, “heart,” to the older form 縣, which gave the sound. The simplified 悬 is a later abbreviation.

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 賞; 赏 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

貝貝bèicowry

Sound part声符shēngfú

商

商shāng賞shǎng

Same sound today

The traditional form 賞 pairs 商 for sound with 貝, a cowry shell; the simplified 赏 is a shorthand.

Appears in

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.