元宝

元寶

yuánbǎo

noun

Meanings

1 gold or silver ingot
2 paper ingot burned as an offering to the dead

Characters

Examples

HSK 4

饺子的样子像元宝。

Jiǎozi de yàngzi xiàng yuánbǎo.

Dumplings are shaped like ingots.

HSK 7-9

清明节，很多家庭会给祖先烧纸钱和元宝。

Qīngmíngjié, hěnduō jiātíng huì gěi zǔxiān shāo zhǐqián hé yuánbǎo.

At Qingming, many families burn paper money and paper ingots for their ancestors.

Tips

history

From the Yuan dynasty on, 元宝 named the boat-shaped ingots of silver or gold used as money; the standard large silver ingot of Ming and Qing times weighed about 50 taels. The shape still stands for wealth: New Year dumplings are folded to look like one, and 金元宝 ornaments come out at Spring Festival.

Stroke Order

元 yuán

宝 bǎo