订金 (dìng jīn) — deposit, earnest money, down payment | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

depositearnest moneydown payment

Examples

订金。
Mǎi fáng shí yào xiān jiāo dìng jīn.
When buying a house, you need to pay a deposit first.
订金。
Zū fáng yì bān yào fù dìng jīn.
When renting, you usually need to pay a deposit.
，订金。
Dìng huò shí, gōng sī yāo qiú xiān fù dìng jīn.
When ordering goods, the company requires an initial payment.

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.

订 and 金 combine: money paid when ordering.

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 訂; 订 is its simplified writing.

言丁訂

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

丁

丁dīng訂dìng

Same sound today

The traditional form 訂 combines 言, related to speech, with 丁, which gives the sound; the simplified 订 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.

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.

Appears in

Money & Currency

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