承租 (chéng zū) — (v) to rent, to lease (as tenant; i.e. to take on a lease)

Definition

承租 means 'to rent/lease as the tenant' — the legal, written term, vs everyday 租. Always from the renter's side, never the landlord's.

verb
(v) to rentto lease (as tenant; i.e. to take on a lease)

Examples

  • 承租。
    Tā men chéng zū le yì jiān bàn gōng shì zài shì zhōng xīn.
    They rented an office in the city center.
  • 承租。
    Zhè jiā gōng sī chéng zū le sān nián de cāng kù.
    This company leased a warehouse for three years.
  • 承租。
    Wǒ xiǎng chéng zū yí kuài dì lái zhòng cài.
    I want to lease a piece of land to grow vegetables.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

承chéngundertake
租zūlease

承 (undertake) and 租 (lease) mean to take on a lease as a tenant.

Characters in this word

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

  • 卩卩jiékneeling person
  • 廾廾gǒngboth hands

承 combines 卩, a kneeling person, and 廾, both hands, to show holding or carrying.

Open 承 →

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hé
Sound part声符shēngfú
且
且qiě租zū
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.

Open 租 →

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