Chinese word

零花钱

Pronunciation

Pinyinlíng huā qián

Meaning

  • nounallowance

Example

我每周给孩子一些零花钱。wǒ měi zhōu gěi hái zi yì xiē líng huā qián

I give my child an allowance every week.

Illustration for 零花钱 (allowance)

More examples

父母常把零花钱与表现挂钩。fù mǔ cháng bǎ líng huā qián yǔ biǎo xiàn guà gōu

Parents often link allowance to performance.

Core concept

Money kept under a person's own control for small day-to-day spending.

Common phrases

  • 控制零花钱kòng zhì líng huā qián

    manage allowance

  • 分配零花钱fēn pèi líng huā qián

    allocate allowance

  • 攒零花钱zǎn líng huā qián

    save allowance

Similar words

零用钱líng yòng qián: Personal spending money kept for everyday small purchases.
零钱líng qián: Small-denomination cash kept for making minor payments.
补贴bǔ tiē: Money provided to help cover part of a person's living or activity costs.

Definition in Chinese

指供个人自由支配、用于零星消费的少量钱，常用来支付儿童或学生的日常小花费。zhǐ gòng gè rén zì yóu zhī pèi yòng yú líng xīng xiāo fèi de shǎo liàng qián cháng yòng lái zhī fù ér tóng huò xué shēng de rì cháng xiǎo huā fèi

Word origin

零 (líng, "small amount") + 花 (huā, "spend") + 钱 (qián, "money") builds the idea of a small amount of money meant to be spent.

Usage tips

  • In family talk, the word commonly points to money given to a child or student, but the context can also cover an adult's modest personal spending.

Word lists with this word