房租 (fáng zū) — rent (for a house or room) | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

房租 is the rent a tenant pays for a room or apartment. It contrasts with 房价 (the purchase price of a home) and with 租金 (rent in general, for any property or equipment).

noun

rent (for a house or room)

Examples

房租？
Zhè ge yuè de fáng zū nǐ jiāo le ma?
Have you paid this month's rent?
房租，。
Zhè lǐ de fáng zū tài guì le, wǒ xiǎng huàn gè dì fāng zhù.
The rent here is too expensive; I want to move somewhere else.
房租。
Wǒ hé shì yǒu yì qǐ fù fáng zū.
My roommate and I split the rent.

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.

房fángroom/house

“房” names the room or house, while “租” names the payment for using it.

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

戶戶hùdoor

Sound part声符shēngfú

方

方fāng房fáng

Same sound today

房 pairs 戶 (door) with 方 (fāng) as a sound part; 方 can also fit 'side,' as in a side room beside the main room.

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

禾且租

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

且

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

租 uses 禾 (grain) because land rent was paid in grain, and 且 shows the pronunciation.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 4 Home & Housing Money & Currency 5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

Browse more HSK 4 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.