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赚钱 (zhuàn qián) — to make money, to earn a profit

Definition

赚钱 (zhuàn qián) is the everyday verb meaning 'to make money / earn a profit' for people or companies. Note the pronunciation: zhuàn here, not zuàn (the verb 'to cheat').

verb
to make moneyto earn a profit

Examples

  • 。
    Tā qù nián zhuàn le hěn duō qián.
    He made a lot of money last year.
  • 赚钱。
    Wǒ xiǎng zhǎo gè bàn fǎ zhuàn qián.
    I want to find a way to make money.
  • 赚钱。
    Zhè jiā gōng sī kào mài yī fu zhuàn qián.
    This company makes money by selling clothes.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

赚zhuànearn; profit
钱qiánmoney

赚 means to earn or profit, and 钱 is money; together they mean to make money.

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 賺; 赚 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
貝貝bèi
Sound part声符shēngfú
兼
兼jiān賺zhuàn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In the traditional form 賺, 貝 is the meaning part and 兼 is the sound part; this is about 賺, not the simplified 赚.

Open 赚 →

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 錢; 钱 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
金金jīnmetal; gold; money
Sound part声符shēngfú
戔
戔jiān錢qián
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 錢 combines 金, meaning metal or money, with 戔, which gives the sound; the simplified 钱 is a later shorthand.

Open 钱 →
Appears in
Business & CommerceMoney & Currency5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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