租期 (zū jī) — lease term, rental period

Definition

noun
lease termrental period

Examples

  • 租期。
    Zhè ge fáng zi de zū jī shì sān nián.
    The lease term for this house is three years.
  • 租期，？
    zū jī Dào le yǐ hòu, wǒ men hái yào zài qiān hé tong ma?
    After the lease term ends, do we need to sign another contract?
  • 租期，。
    Yīn wèi zū jī tài duǎn, tā jué dìng bù zū le.
    Because the rental period was too short, he decided not to rent.

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.

租zūrent
期qīperiod

租 (rent) + 期 (period): the period for renting.

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
禾禾hé
Sound part声符shēngfú
且
且qiě租zū
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

租 uses 禾 (grain) because land rent was paid in grain, and 且 shows the pronunciation.

Open 租 →

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 →

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