Chinese Character of the Day

Zī. This is the 13th most common character as collected on Usenet newsgroups in 1993 and 1994 by Shi-Kun Huang and collated by Chih-Hao Tsai. Translated by itself, it can mean capital or funds. The top part is 次 (cì), which can mean order or sequence. The bottom part is 贝 (bèi), which means shell, including the cowrie shell used as currency in ancient China (link). So, I guess when you put your shells in order, you've got capital. Makes sense to me. Now on to multiple-character words involving 资 (zī).

资本 - zīběn means capital and...
资本家 - zīběnjiā means capitalist
资产 - zīchǎn means property or assets
投资 - tóuzī means invest
资产阶级 - zīchǎnjiējí means the bourgeoisie
资源 - zīyuán means resources
工资 - gōngzī means salary or wages

There are many more where these came from, so check out 资 (zī) in your dictionary or on www.zhongwen.com for more info. It's definately a character with all kinds of uses, especially in the fields of finance or business, so it's a great one to know. So, that's it for today, and if you have any questions, comments, or corrections, let me know. 拜拜.