关税 (guān shuì) — customs duty; tariff | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

关税 is the duty paid on goods crossing a national border, distinct from 税 (general tax) and 税收 (tax revenue the government collects).

noun

customs dutytariff

Measure word · 项

Examples

关税。
Guó jiā jiàng dī le jìn kǒu shāng pǐn de guān shuì.
The country lowered import tariffs.
关税。
Guò hǎi guān de shí hou yào shēn bào guān shuì.
When going through customs, you need to declare tariffs.
关税。
Tōu táo guān shuì shì wéi fǎ de xíng wéi.
Evading tariffs is an illegal act.

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.

关guāncustoms

关 refers to customs and 税 to tax, so 关税 is a tax collected at customs.

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 關; 关 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

門門méndoor

Sound part声符shēngfú

𢇅

𢇅𢇅關guān

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

For 关, the traditional form 關 shows 門 as a door and 𢇅 as two wooden sticks locking it, with ring-like marks on top.

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

禾兑税

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

兑

兑duì税shuì

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

税 pairs 禾, a grain plant, with 兑, which gives the character its sound.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 7-9 Economy & Trade

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