期权 (qī quán) — option (financial contract)

Definition

noun
option (financial contract)

Examples

  • 期权，。
    Tā mǎi le yí fèn qī quán, jià gé wèi shí yuán.
    He bought an option with a price of ten yuan.
  • 期权，。
    qī quán Jiāo yì cún zài jiào dà fēng xiǎn, xū yào jǐn shèn.
    Options trading carries considerable risk and requires caution.
  • 期权，。
    Gōng sī fā xíng le xīn de qī quán, xī yǐn tóu zī zhě.
    The company issued new options to attract investors.

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.

期qītime or term
权quánright

期 contributes time or term and 权 contributes right, giving a time-bound right in finance.

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
日日rì
Sound part声符shēngfú
其
其qí期qī
Same sound today

The original form paired 其 for its sound with 日 (sun). A related form changed that sun to 月, and this later developed into 期.

Open 期 →

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 權; 权 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
木木mùtree
Sound part声符shēngfú
雚
雚guàn權quán
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 權 shows 木, a tree, with 雚 giving the sound; it named a kind of tree and was used for a standard weight. The simplified 权 is a later shorthand, not the historical shape.

Open 权 →

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.