加薪 (jiā xīn) — to get a pay raise; to give a pay raise (with 给)

Definition

加薪 (jiā xīn) means a pay raise — the worker receives it (他加薪了) or the employer grants it (公司给员工加薪). The 给 construction marks who pays.

verb

to get a pay raiseto give a pay raise (with 给)

Examples

加薪。
Gōng sī jué dìng gěi suǒ yǒu yuán gōng jiā xīn.
The company decided to give all employees a pay raise.
。
Tā qù nián jiā le yí cì xīn.
He got a pay raise once last year.
，加薪。
Jīng guò nǔ lì, tā zhōng yú jiā xīn le.
After hard work, he finally got a pay raise.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

加jiāincrease

薪xīnsalary

“加” means increase and “薪” means salary, together to raise pay.

Characters in this word

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

力口加

力力lìstrength
口口kǒumouth

加 pairs 力 and 口. In one explanation 力 is strength and 口 is the mouth, meaning exaggeration; in another 力 is plowing effort and 口 is breath or exclamation, meaning extra effort.

Open 加 →

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

艹新薪

Meaning part形符xíngfú

艹Written in full as艸cǎo

Sound part声符shēngfú

新

新xīn薪xīn

Same sound today

In 薪, the top 艹 (plants, written 艸) marks plant material, and 新 (xīn) gives the sound.

Open 薪 →

Appears in