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省钱 (shěng qián) — to save money; to be economical

Definition

A verb-object phrase meaning to spend less / to save money. It can describe a habit (他很省钱) or the act of cutting costs in a specific context (买个便宜点的能省钱).

verb
to save moneyto be economical

Examples

  • ，。
    Wèi le mǎi fáng zi, tā shěng le sān nián qián.
    He saved money for three years in order to buy a house.
  • 省钱。
    Nǐ píng shí kě yǐ duō shěng qián.
    You can save more money in daily life.
  • 省钱。
    Zhè ge bàn fǎ hěn shěng qián.
    This method is very economical.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

省shěngsave
钱qiánmoney

省钱 pairs 省, to save, with 钱, money; together they express saving money.

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.

The upper part of 省 is a changed form of 生, which gave the sound, while the lower 目 is an eye; the picture showed looking closely or inspecting.

Open 省 →

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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