赏金 (shǎng jīn) — monetary reward, bounty | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

monetary rewardbounty

Examples

赏金。
Jǐng fāng xuán shǎng shí wàn yuán shǎng jīn jī ná xiōng shǒu.
The police offered a 100,000 yuan reward for the capture of the murderer.
赏金。
Tā zài yóu xì zhōng huò dé le dà liàng shǎng jīn.
He obtained a large amount of bounty in the game.
赏金。
Hǎi dào men wèi le shǎng jīn ér hù xiāng zhēng dòu.
The pirates fought each other for the bounty.

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.

赏shǎngreward

赏 (reward) specifies the 金 (money) as money given as a reward.

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 賞; 赏 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

貝貝bèicowry

Sound part声符shēngfú

商

商shāng賞shǎng

Same sound today

The traditional form 賞 pairs 商 for sound with 貝, a cowry shell; the simplified 赏 is a 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

Crime & Police Money & Currency

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.