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资本家 (zī běn jiā) — capitalist (person who owns capital and employs labor)

Definition

A 资本家 is the owner of capital who hires workers for profit — a standard term in Marxist/political-economy writing, more abstract and ideological than 老板 ("business owner, boss").

noun
capitalist (person who owns capital and employs labor)
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 资本家。
    Zhè wèi zī běn jiā tóu zī le yì jiā xīn gōng chǎng.
    This capitalist invested in a new factory.
  • 资本家。
    Mǎ kè sī zhǔ yì rèn wéi zī běn jiā bō xuē gōng rén de shèng yú jià zhí.
    Marxism holds that capitalists exploit the surplus value of workers.
  • 资本家。
    Nà ge zī běn jiā kào fáng dì chǎn fā le dà cái.
    That capitalist made a fortune through real estate.

Origin

Derived word
构词法gòucífǎ
后缀hòuzhuìSuffix

A fixed syllable at the end that turns the word into a noun, a person, a place or the like.

资本capital
资zīfunds本běncapital
联合Coordinate
家jiāperson

资本 names capital, and 家 points to a person, giving capitalist.

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 資; 资 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
貝貝bèishell-money
Sound part声符shēngfú
次
次cì資zī
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 資 puts 次 above 貝, a shell-money sign, to write property or resource; 次 supplies the sound. The simplified 资 is a shorthand, so do not treat its parts as historical.

Open 资 →

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

本 adds a stroke at the bottom of a tree shape to mark the roots, giving the sense of foundation or original.

Open 本 →

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
宀宀miánroof
Sound part声符shēngfú
𢑓
𢑓𢑓家jiā
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The early drawing of 家 showed a roof 宀 over a male-pig sign 𢑓 that gave the pronunciation; the lower part later changed shape.

Open 家 →
Appears in
Business & CommerceProfessions & Jobs

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