存量 (cún liàng) — amount stored, storage capacity; (economics) stock (as opposed to flow)

Definition

In economics, 存量 (cúnliàng) is a 'stock' — a quantity measured at one point in time, paired with 流量 (liúliàng) 'flow' measured over time. Keep the second sense for general/technical storage amounts.

noun
amount storedstorage capacity(economics) stock (as opposed to flow)

Examples

  • 存量。
    Zhè ge cāng kù de cún liàng yǐ jīng jiē jìn shàng xiàn le.
    The storage capacity of this warehouse is already approaching its limit.
  • 存量。
    Jīng jì xué jiā gèng guān zhù cún liàng de biàn huà ér fēi liú liàng.
    Economists pay more attention to changes in stock rather than flow.
  • 存量。
    Wǒ men xū yào jì suàn dāng qián de shuǐ zī yuán cún liàng.
    We need to calculate the current stock of water resources.

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.

存cúnstored
量liángamount

存 (stored) and 量 (amount) mean the amount kept in storage.

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
子子zǐ
Sound part声符shēngfú
才
才cái存cún
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

存 pairs 子 with 才, which was used for the sound.

Open 存 →

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

  • 日日rìsun
  • 東東dōngbag; east

量 has 日 (sun) over 東 (bag; east). Some explanations suggest measuring under the sun or the sun rising in the east, but the exact origin is unclear.

Open 量 →

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