TongTong
Sign in

钞 (chāo) — (bound form) banknote, paper money (in compounds like 钞票, 现钞); (bound form, literary) collected writings (in compounds like 诗钞)

Definition

Bound form with two unrelated uses: short for 'paper money' (as in 钞票, 现钞 'cash'), and a literary suffix meaning 'collected writings' (as in 诗钞 'poetry anthology').

bound form
banknotepaper money (in compounds like 钞票, 现钞)(bound form, literary) collected writings (in compounds like 诗钞)

Examples

  • 。
    Tā shǒu lǐ ná zhe yì zhāng chāo piào.
    He is holding a banknote in his hand.
  • 。
    Zhè jiā yín háng zhī shōu xiàn chāo.
    This bank only accepts cash.
  • 钞。
    Zhè běn shī chāo shōu lù le tā de zǎo qī zuò pǐn.
    This poetry collection includes his early works.

Origin

Sound + meaning
六书liùshū
形声xíngshēng

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 鈔; 钞 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
金金jīn
Sound part声符shēngfú
少
少shǎo鈔chāo
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The form 鈔 has 金 as the meaning part and 少 for the sound.

Appears in
Money & Currency

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