挣钱 (zhèng qián) — to earn money, to make money | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

挣钱 means 'to earn money' through work — focus is on the effort/work itself. Compared with the more general 赚钱, it emphasizes working to get paid.

verb

to earn moneyto make money

Examples

挣钱。
Tā dà xué bì yè yǐ hòu jiù kāi shǐ zhèng qián le.
After graduating from university, he started earning money.
。
Zhè ge yuè tā zhèng le bù shǎo qián.
He earned quite a lot of money this month.
挣钱，。
Bié zǒng xiǎng zuò qīng sōng de gōng zuò zhèng qián, nǎ yǒu nà me hǎo de shì.
Don't always expect to earn money by doing easy work — things aren't that good.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

The 挣 sense of earning works with 钱 money to mean make money.

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 掙; 挣 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

手手shǒuhand

Sound part声符shēngfú

爭

爭zhēng掙zhèng

Same sound today

The traditional form 掙 combines 手 (hand) with 爭, which gives the sound; the simplified 挣 is a shorthand.

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 錢; 钱 is its simplified writing.

金戔錢

Meaning part形符xíngfú

金金jīnmetal; gold; money

Sound part声符shēngfú

戔

戔jiān錢qián

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

The traditional form 錢 combines 金, meaning metal or money, with 戔, which gives the sound; the simplified 钱 is a later shorthand.

Appears in

HSK 2.0 Level 5 Money & Currency

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