财源 (cái yuán) — financial resources; source of revenue | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

财源 refers to the source or channel from which money comes in — a business's revenue streams, not money itself. Compared with plain 钱 or 收入, it emphasizes where income comes from and whether it is steady.

noun

financial resourcessource of revenue

Examples

财源。
Gōng sī xū yào kāi tuò xīn de cái yuán.
The company needs to explore new sources of revenue.
财源。
Tā de cái yuán zhǔ yào lái zì tóu zī.
His financial resources mainly come from investments.
财源。
Wěn dìng de cái yuán duì jiā tíng hěn zhòng yào.
Stable financial resources are very important for a family.

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cáimoney or wealth

财 points to money or wealth, while 源 means source, so the word denotes a source of financial 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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 財; 财 is its simplified writing.

貝才財

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.

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

水水shuǐwater

Sound part声符shēngfú

原

原yuán源yuán

Same sound today

源 combines 水 (water) and 原 (origin): 水 points to water, and 原 gives the sound.

Appears in

Finance & Banking

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