信用卡 (xìn yòng kǎ) — credit card | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

A card for borrowing money from a bank to pay now and pay back later. Use 银行卡 for debit/ATM cards; 卡片 is the generic word for any card.

noun

credit card

Measure word · 张

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.

信用credit

偏正Modifier + head

信用 (credit) and 卡 (card) together name a card for credit.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

言言yánwords

Sound part声符shēngfú

人

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

信 pairs 人 as the sound part with 言 (words) as the meaning part.

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

用 was formed by adding a handle to an earlier form.

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

卡 is made from 上 (up) and 下 (down), with their horizontal lines fused, showing something squeezed between above and below.

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