财主 (cái zhǔ) — (historical) wealthy landowner, rich person (especially in pre-1949 China)

Definition

Historical/colloquial term for a rich landlord, especially in old Chinese stories. Carries a slightly negative or folk-tale flavor — more literary than 富人.

noun
(historical) wealthy landownerrich person (especially in pre-1949 China)
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 财主。
    Nà ge cái zhǔ yǒu hěn duō tǔ dì hé fáng zi.
    That wealthy landowner has a lot of land and houses.
  • 财主。
    Zhè běn xiǎo shuō lǐ xiě le yí gè cái zhǔ de gù shi.
    This novel tells the story of a wealthy landlord.
  • 财主。
    Dà jiā dōu shuō nà ge cái zhǔ hěn xiǎo qì.
    Everyone says that rich person is very stingy.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

财cáiwealth
主zhǔowner

The wealth of 财 specifies the owner or master of 主, giving a property owner.

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 財; 财 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
貝貝bèishell
Sound part声符shēngfú
才
才cái財cái
Same sound today

The traditional form 財 has 貝 (shell) next to 才, which gives the sound; the simplified 财 is a later shorthand.

Open 财 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The old forms that became 主 showed a lamp or torch with a flame at the top; other forms showed wood on fire or a spirit tablet.

Open 主 →

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