皮包公司 (pí bāo gōng sī) — shell company, fly-by-night operation (a company with no real assets or operations, often set up to defraud)

Definition

A 'shell company' — a business with no real assets or staff, often set up for fraud. 皮包 literally means 'leather bag' (the founder carries only a bag).

noun
shell companyfly-by-night operation (a company with no real assets or operations, often set up to defraud)

Examples

  • ，皮包公司。
    Zhè jiā gōng sī méi yǒu yuán gōng yě méi yǒu bàn gōng shì, shì gè pí bāo gōng sī.
    This company has no employees and no office — it's a shell company.
  • 皮包公司。
    Jǐng fāng zuì jìn chá fēng le yì pī pí bāo gōng sī.
    The police recently shut down a batch of shell companies.
  • 皮包公司。
    Tā yīn wèi zhù cè pí bāo gōng sī piàn qián bèi pàn le xíng.
    He was sentenced to prison for registering a shell company to defraud people.

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.

皮包leather bag
皮pískin/leather包bāobag
偏正Modifier + head
公司company
公gōngpublic司sīoffice
偏正Modifier + head

'皮包' evokes a briefcase, and '公司' means company, suggesting one with no real substance.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

皮 shows a hand pulling fur off an animal pelt, with the pelt drawn at the upper left.

Open 皮 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The shape of 包 pictures a fetus in a womb, or a baby wrapped in cloth.

Open 包 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

One theory sees 公 as a picture of a wide-mouthed, round-bottomed jar.

Open 公 →

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

The evidence is inconclusive: one suggestion sees 司 as a mouth giving orders beside a mark of authority, another reads that mark as a hand, and another sees it as a reversed older form.

Open 司 →

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