Weekly Story #2: Learn the radical 金!

Let's discuss the radical 金! This is one of the most used radicals in Chinese characters, and it means 'gold' or 'metal'. 金 is found in many characters relating wealth, money, and metals, like 錢|钱 (money), 銀|银 (silver), and 銅|铜 (copper).

But there’s more: the 金 radical can also add a meaning of durability and strength to a Chinese character. For example, the character 錘|锤 (hammer) has the 金 radical, and the radical emphasizes the solid and durable quality of the hammer.

So, if you're learning Chinese, keep an eye out for the 金 radical - it's a handy one to know!

With our story today we’ll be learning these 3 characters: 錢, 銀, and 針. I hope you’ll learn something new with this story today!

小金是一个工人，他在金爐邊努力的工作。

有一天他看到老闆有一件漂亮的銀色針織衫，但是他買不起。
他想：“我要努力工作，也許我就能擁有它。”

小金更加努力的工作，一直到天黑。
老闆看到他的努力，
老闆說：“小金，你非常努力，這件銀色針織衫是我送給你的禮物。”

小金說：“非常感謝您！”
小金非常感謝老闆對他的鼓勵。

從此，當小金穿上針織衫，小金都會想起他不花錢就有銀色針織衫。
因為小金的努力, 所以他不花一分錢就擁有了心愛的銀色針織衫。

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Story about Chinese radical 金

XiaoJin is a worker, he works hard by the gold furnace.

One day he saw that the boss had a beautiful silver sweater, but he couldn't afford it.

He thought, "I'm going to work hard, maybe I can have it."

XiaoJin worked harder until dark. The boss saw his hard work,

The boss said: "XiaoJin, you have worked very hard. This silver sweater is a gift from me."

XiaoJin said: "Thank you very much!"

XiaoJin is very grateful to his boss for his encouragement.

From now on, when XiaoJin puts on a silver sweater, XiaoJin will always remember that he has a silver sweater for free.

Because of XiaoJin's hard work, he has his beloved silver sweater without spending a penny.

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Key Words

金爐 jīn lú - gold stove

努力 nǔ lì - great effort

漂亮 piào liàng - beautiful

擁有 yōng yǒu - to have

更加 gèng jiā - more (than sth else) /even more

禮物 lǐ wù - gift / present

送給 sòng gěi - to send / to give as a present

鼓勵 gǔ lì - to encourage

穿上 chuān shàng - to put on (clothes etc)

不花錢 bù huā qián - without spending money

不花一分錢 bù huā yī fēn qián - without spending a penny

從此 cóng cǐ - from now on

就 jiù - at once / right away

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Example Sentences

他送給她一朵紅玫瑰。 tā sòng gěi tā yī duǒ hóng méi guī

He gave her a red rose.

下雨了，你應該更加小心開車。xià yǔ le, nǐ yīng gāi gèng jiā xiǎo xīn kāi chē.

It's raining, you should drive more carefully.

因為她的腳受傷,所以從此不再跳舞了!

yīn wèi tā de jiǎo shòu shāng suǒ yǐ cóng cǐ bù zài tiàowǔle

From now on, no more dancing because of her foot injury!

村子的村民都搬走了，從此之後再也沒有回來了。

cūn zi de cūn mín dōu bān zǒu le cóng cǐ zhī hòu zài yě méi yǒu huí lái le

The villagers of the village all moved away and have never returned since.

就 jiù - at once / right away / as soon as

他一回到家就睡覺。tā yī huí dào jiā jiù shuì jiào

As soon as he gets home he goes to sleep.

這家店一開，就有很多人來。zhè jiā diàn yī kāi jiù yǒu hěn duō rén lái

As soon as the store opened, many people came.

If you want to use Simplified Chinese to learn or audio to listen, head to my Ricciwawa post over here! [click here] Thanks for taking the time to read through my article!