二百两 (èr bǎi liǎng) — (historical measure) two hundred taels (of silver)

Definition

A unit of ∼37.5 kg of silver used as money in imperial China, equivalent to about 10,000 copper coins. You will mostly meet it in historical fiction, period dramas, and texts about the Ming and Qing dynasties.

numeral
(historical measure) two hundred taels (of silver)
Easily confused

Examples

  • 二百两。
    Tā huā le èr bǎi liǎng yín zi mǎi le zhè pǐ mǎ.
    He spent two hundred taels of silver to buy this horse.
  • 二百两。
    Zhè bǐ shēng yì zhuàn le èr bǎi liǎng.
    This business deal earned two hundred taels.
  • ，二百两。
    Xiǎo shuō lǐ shuō, tā qiàn le bié rén èr bǎi liǎng.
    The novel says he owed someone two hundred taels.

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.

二百two hundred
二èrtwo百bǎihundred
偏正Modifier + head
两liǎngtael

二百 means two hundred and 两 is a tael, giving two hundred taels of silver.

Characters in this word

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

二 is drawn as two parallel strokes, where the number of strokes shows the amount.

Open 二 →

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
一一yī
Sound part声符shēngfú
白
白bái百bǎi
Same sound today

百 combines 一, which carries the number meaning, with 白, which provides the sound.

Open 百 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 兩; 两 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 兩 is described as combining 一 and 㒳. The simplified 两 is a later abbreviation.

Open 两 →

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