万金 (wàn jīn) — a great fortune

Definition

Literary word for 'a great fortune' — a fortune, vast wealth, massive assets. Almost only seen in writing (e.g. 万金难买…).

noun
a great fortune

Examples

  • ，万金。
    Tā jīng guò duō nián de nǔ lì, zhōng yú jī lěi le wàn jīn.
    After years of hard work, he finally accumulated a fortune.
  • 万金。
    Zhè jiā qǐ yè yōng yǒu wàn jīn zī chǎn.
    This enterprise possesses enormous assets.
  • 万金。
    wàn jīn Nán mǎi jiàn kāng.
    A fortune cannot buy health.

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.

万wànten thousand
金jīngold

万 (ten thousand) and 金 (gold) combine to mean a great sum of money.

Characters in this word

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 萬; 万 is its simplified writing.

For 万, the form 萬 was originally a picture of a scorpion, later borrowed for its sound to write 'ten thousand'; the scorpion picture is unrelated to that number.

Open 万 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

金 was drawn with marks for two pieces of metal, along with a part that gave its sound; it first meant copper, then metals and gold.

Open 金 →

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