滞纳金 (zhì nà jīn) — overdue fine, late fee

Definition

A penalty charged for paying a bill, tax, or fee past its due date (rent, credit card, utilities, etc.). It is the fee itself, not the late payment.

noun

overdue finelate fee

，滞纳金。
Yīn wèi jiāo fáng zū wǎn le, tā fù le yì bǐ zhì nà jīn.
Because he paid the rent late, he paid a late fee.
滞纳金。
Xìn yòng kǎ de zhì nà jīn bǐ lì xī hái yào gāo.
The late fee on a credit card is even higher than the interest.
，滞纳金。
Qǐng jǐn kuài bǔ jiāo shuì kuǎn, yǐ miǎn chǎn shēng zhì nà jīn.
Please pay the tax promptly to avoid incurring a late fee.

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.

滞纳overdue payment

偏正Modifier + head

金jīnmoney/fee

滞 means delayed, 纳 means pay, and 金 means money or fee, together giving an overdue payment charge.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 滯; 滞 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

帶

帶dài滯zhì

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 滯 combines 水 (water) with 帶, which gives the pronunciation; the simplified 滞 is a later shorthand.

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 納; 纳 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

糸糸mìsilk, thin thread

Sound part声符shēngfú

内

Same sound today

The traditional form 納 has 糸 (silk, thin thread) and 内, which gives the sound; the simplified 纳 is a shorthand.

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

金 was drawn with marks for two pieces of metal, along with a part that gave its sound; it first meant copper, then metals and gold.