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预付 (yù fù) — pay in advance; prepay

Definition

Verb meaning 'to pay in advance / prepay' — the action of paying before receiving goods or services. Often used in business, rental, and hotel contexts as in 预付款 (advance payment).

verb
pay in advanceprepay

Examples

  • 预付。
    Zhè bǐ huò kuǎn xū yào yù fù.
    This payment for goods needs to be paid in advance.
  • 预付。
    Wǒ men tōng guò xìn yòng kǎ yù fù le jiǔ diàn fèi yòng.
    We prepaid the hotel fee by credit card.
  • 预付。
    Dìng jīn kě yǐ dàng zuò yù fù de yí bù fen.
    The deposit can count as part of the advance payment.

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.

预yùbeforehand
付fùpay

'预' means beforehand and '付' means pay, giving payment in advance.

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 預; 预 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
頁頁yè
Sound part声符shēngfú
予
予yǔ預yù
Same sound today

The traditional form 預 combines 予 for the sound and 頁 for the meaning; the simplified 预 is a later shorthand.

Open 预 →

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

付 pairs 亻 (person) with 又 (hand), showing a person handing something to someone.

Open 付 →
Appears in
Money & Currency

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