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资本 (zī běn) — capital (in economics)

Definition

In economics, 资本 means 'capital' as a factor of production (money, assets, machinery) — not the capital city 首都. Compared to 资金, it is broader and more theoretical; 资金 is everyday 'funds'.

noun
capital (in economics)

Examples

  • 资本。
    Gōng sī xū yào xī yǐn gèng duō zī běn lái kuò dà yè wù.
    The company needs to attract more capital to expand its business.
  • ，资本。
    Zài jīng jì xué zhōng, zī běn shì shēng chǎn yào sù zhī yī.
    In economics, capital is one of the factors of production.
  • 资本。
    Tā men yòng zhè bǐ zī běn tóu zī le xīn xiàng mù.
    They used this capital to invest in a new project.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

资zīcapital
本běnprincipal

资 and 本 both concern money or principal, and together they name economic capital.

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 資; 资 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
貝貝bèishell-money
Sound part声符shēngfú
次
次cì資zī
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 資 puts 次 above 貝, a shell-money sign, to write property or resource; 次 supplies the sound. The simplified 资 is a shorthand, so do not treat its parts as historical.

Open 资 →

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

本 adds a stroke at the bottom of a tree shape to mark the roots, giving the sense of foundation or original.

Open 本 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 6HSK 2.0 Level 6Finance & BankingEconomy & Trade

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