财 (cái) — wealth, riches
Definition
财 (cái) is a bound morpheme meaning 'wealth/money' — it never stands alone and only appears in compounds like 财富 ('wealth'), 财政 ('finance/fiscal'), and 发财 ('get rich').
bound form
wealthriches
Examples
- 。Tā tōng guò tóu zī jī lěi le dà liàng de cái fù.He accumulated a large amount of wealth through investment.
- 。Zhèng fǔ zhèng zài gǎi gé cái zhèng zhì dù.The government is reforming the financial system.
- 。Hěn duō rén xī wàng yí yè fā cái.Many people hope to get rich overnight.
Origin
Sound + meaning六书liùshū
形声xíngshēngMost 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 財; 财 is its simplified writing.
Meaning part形符xíngfú
貝貝bèishell
The traditional form 財 has 貝 (shell) next to 才, which gives the sound; the simplified 财 is a later shorthand.
Appears in
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