花红 (huā hóng) — (noun) Chinese pear-leaved crabapple (Malus asiatica); (noun) bonus, tip, dividend, or gift (especially a monetary reward for good performance or a wedding gift)

Definition

Literally 'flower-red', 花红 is the classical/literary name for both the Chinese crabapple fruit and a monetary gift or bonus given on festive or happy occasions (weddings, year-end). Most learners meet it in the gift/bonus sense in modern writing.

noun
Chinese pear-leaved crabapple (Malus asiatica)bonustipdividendor gift (especially a monetary reward for good performance or a wedding gift)

Examples

  • 花红。
    Zhè zhǒng huā hóng chī qǐ lái yòu tián yòu cuì.
    This kind of crabapple tastes sweet and crisp.
  • 花红。
    Nián dǐ gōng sī gěi měi gè yuán gōng fā le huā hóng.
    At the end of the year, the company gave every employee a bonus.
  • 花红。
    Tā jié hūn shí shōu dào le bù shǎo huā hóng.
    He received quite a few wedding gifts when he got married.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
主谓zhǔwèiSubject + predicate

A small sentence frozen into a word: something, and what it does or is.

花huāflowers
红hóngred

花 names flowers and 红 says they are red; the reward sense uses 红 as auspicious red, not red flowers.

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
艹Written in full as艸cǎograss; plant
Sound part声符shēngfú
化
化huà花
Same sound today

花 pairs 艹 (grass; plant) with 化, which gives the sound.

Open 花 →

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 紅; 红 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
糸糸mìsilk
Sound part声符shēngfú
工
工gōng紅hóng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 紅 puts 糸 (silk) next to 工, which gives the sound; the simplified 红 is a later shorthand.

Open 红 →

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