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筹码 (chóu mǎ) — gaming chip, casino token; bargaining chip (negotiation advantage)

Definition

Two senses: literal casino tokens (gaming chips) and, metaphorically, any asset used as leverage in negotiation ("bargaining chip"). The figurative sense is by far the more common in news and formal writing.

noun
gaming chipcasino tokenbargaining chip (negotiation advantage)
Measure word · 枚

Examples

  • 筹码。
    Tā yíng le hěn duō chóu mǎ.
    He won a lot of chips.
  • ，筹码。
    Zhè cì tán pàn, wǒ men de chóu mǎ bú gòu.
    In this negotiation, we don't have enough bargaining chips.
  • 筹码。
    Tā bǎ suǒ yǒu chóu mǎ dōu huàn chéng le xiàn jīn.
    He cashed in all the chips.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

筹chóutally
码mǎtoken

筹 and 码 both refer to counting tokens, so together they mean chips or bargaining advantages.

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 籌; 筹 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
竹竹zhúbamboo
Sound part声符shēngfú
壽
壽shòu籌chóu
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 籌 has 竹 (bamboo) on top and 壽 below as the sound part; the simplified 筹 is a later shorthand.

Open 筹 →

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 碼; 码 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
石石shístone; rock
Sound part声符shēngfú
馬
馬mǎ碼mǎ
Same sound today

The traditional form 碼 pairs 石 (stone) with 馬 for its sound; the simplified 码 is a later shorthand.

Open 码 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Gambling & Chance

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