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投资 (tóu zī) — to invest; investment

Definition

投资 (tóuzī) is the standard word for putting money into something for financial return — broader than 投入 (which also covers time/effort) and more commercial than 付出 (which means giving, not investing).

to investinvestment

Examples

  • 投资。
    Tā dǎ suàn tóu zī jiào yù háng yè.
    He plans to invest in the education industry.
  • 投资。
    Zhè bǐ tóu zī huí bào lǜ hěn gāo.
    This investment has a high rate of return.
  • 投资。
    Wǒ men gōng sī tóu zī le xīn jì shù.
    Our company invested in new technology.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

投tóuput in
资zīcapital

投 'put in' and 资 'capital' mean to put in money or resources.

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
扌Written in full as手shǒuhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
殳
殳shū投tóu
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The left part 扌 shows a hand, and the right part 殳 gives the sound of the character.

Open 投 →

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
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