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有钱 (yǒu qián) — to be rich, to have money

Definition

Adjectival phrase meaning 'rich / well-off'. Used directly before or after nouns (他有钱 / 有钱人) and works as a predicate (他很∼).

to be richto have money

Examples

  • 。
    Tā yǒu le hěn duō qián.
    He has become very rich.
  • 有钱。
    Tā men jiā hěn yǒu qián.
    Their family is rich.
  • 有钱？
    Nǐ yǒu qián ma?
    Are you rich?

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

有yǒuhave
钱qiánmoney

'有' (have) + '钱' (money) means having money, i.e. rich.

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
肉肉ròumeat
Sound part声符shēngfú
又
又yòu有yǒu
Same sound today

The form 有 combines 又, used for its sound, with a shape from 肉, 'meat'; the hand-holding-meat story is a folk explanation, not shown in the oldest shape.

Open 有 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 錢; 钱 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
金金jīnmetal; gold; money
Sound part声符shēngfú
戔
戔jiān錢qián
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 錢 combines 金, meaning metal or money, with 戔, which gives the sound; the simplified 钱 is a later shorthand.

Open 钱 →
Appears in
Money & Currency

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