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闲钱 (xián qián) — spare cash

Definition

闲钱 is money you have left over after paying for necessities — cash you can spend or save freely, not earmarked for bills.

noun
spare cash
Measure word · 块

Examples

  • 闲钱？
    Nǐ shǒu lǐ yǒu méi yǒu xián qián?
    Do you have any spare cash on hand?
  • 闲钱。
    Tā yòng xián qián mǎi le yí liàng èr shǒu chē.
    He used spare cash to buy a used car.
  • 闲钱。
    Wǒ xiǎng cún yì diǎn xián qián yǐ bèi bù shí zhī xū.
    I want to save some spare cash for emergencies.

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.

闲xiánspare
钱qiánmoney

闲 means spare or idle, and 钱 means money, so the word points to idle cash.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 閒; 闲 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 閒 puts 月 (moon) inside 門 (door), as if moonlight peeks through a door; this picture gives the idea of a gap or space. The simplified 闲 is a later abbreviation.

Open 闲 →

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
Money & Currency

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