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年薪 (nián xīn) — annual salary

Definition

年薪 means a full year's salary as a single figure. 工资 is regular pay, 薪水 everyday word for salary, and 薪酬 is the formal, total-compensation term.

noun
annual salary

Examples

  • 年薪。
    Tā de nián xīn bǐ qù nián zēng jiā le bù shǎo.
    His annual salary has increased quite a bit over last year.
  • 年薪。
    Wǒ men gōng sī tí gōng de nián xīn zài háng yè nèi hěn yǒu jìng zhēng lì.
    The annual salary our company offers is very competitive in the industry.
  • 年薪？
    Nǐ de nián xīn bāo kuò nián zhōng jiǎng jīn ma?
    Does your annual salary include the year-end bonus?

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
薪xīnsalary

年 marks the yearly cycle, and 薪 means salary, so together they give an annual salary.

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 →

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
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
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Money & CurrencyWorkplace & Office

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