年利率 (nián lì lǜ) — annual interest rate

Definition

noun
annual interest rate

Examples

  • 年利率。
    Zhè jiā yín háng de nián lì lǜ shì bǎi fēn zhī sān.
    This bank's annual interest rate is three percent.
  • 年利率。
    Dài kuǎn shí yào zhù yì nián lì lǜ de gāo dī.
    When taking out a loan, pay attention to the annual interest rate.
  • 年利率。
    Tā men bǐ jiào le bù tóng chǎn pǐn de nián lì lǜ.
    They compared the annual interest rates of different products.

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.

年niányear
利率interest rate
利lìinterest率lǜrate
偏正Modifier + head

年 means year and 利率 means interest rate, naming the rate of interest for one year.

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
禾禾héwheat; grain
Sound part声符shēngfú
人
人rén年nián
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

年 pairs 禾 (grain) with 人, which gives the sound. Its original meaning was harvest, and it later came to mean a year.

Open 年 →

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

利 combines 禾 (grain) and 刀 (knife), showing a knife used to cut grain.

Open 利 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

率 was drawn as a bird-catching net, with a stick above and below. In the form described, the lower horizontal stroke is missing, so the whole shape represents a rope.

Open 率 →

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