租

zū

且 + 禾

HSK 2.0Level 4

HSK 3.0Level 4

Definitions

zū (verb) to rent; to lease

zū (noun) rent; rental fee

zū (noun) land tax

Etymology

Phonosemantic compound. 禾 represents the meaning and 且 represents the sound. Based on the original meaning "land tax". The meaning later shifted to "rent" and "hire".

About

租 is a phono-semantic compound: 禾 'grain' supplies the meaning, while 且 indicates the sound. Its original sense was a land tax paid in harvested grain. As the economy moved away from payment in kind, the character broadened to mean 'rent' and 'hire'. Today it covers the temporary use of housing, vehicles, equipment, or land in exchange for payment, from the tenant's act of paying to borrow, to the owner's act of leasing out property.

Etymology Hide

Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)

Clerical Qin dynasty (221-206 BC)

Seal Western Han dynasty (202 BC-9 AD)

Traditional Modern

Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

我租了一辆车。

Wǒ zūle yī liàng chē.

I rented a car.

这本书是租的。

Zhè běn shū shì zū de.

This book is rented.

我想租一个公寓。

Wǒ xiǎng zū yīgè gōngyù.

I want to rent an apartment.

租金每月一千元。

Zūjīn měi yuè yīqiān yuán.

The rent is 1000 yuan per month.

你租的房子大吗？

Nǐ zū de fángzi dà ma?

Is the house you rented big?

他因为没钱所以租车。

Tā yīnwèi méi qián suǒyǐ zū chē.

He rented a car because he didn't have money.

如果你要旅行，可以租一辆自行车。

Rúguǒ nǐ yào lǚxíng, kěyǐ zū yī liàng zìxíngchē.

If you want to travel, you can rent a bicycle.

这家公司专门出租办公设备。

Zhè jiā gōngsī zhuānmén chūzū bàngōng shèbèi.

This company specializes in renting office equipment.

Related Characters

Component: 且

Component: 禾

租