cin4 zong1錢莊钱庄
Jyutpingcin4 zong1
Yalechìhn jōng
Definition
An old-style bank or an unlicensed financial institution.
- datedan old-style Chinese bank from the pre-regulatory era
- an unlicensed financial institution
colloquialmoney
How it's used
Modern usage of this term is almost exclusively restricted to the phrase 地下錢莊, which refers to unlicensed, illegal financial operations. Using it to describe a legitimate modern bank sounds archaic or implies that the institution is operating outside the law. It carries a strong historical connotation of private, unregulated money lending or currency exchange houses from the pre-modern era.
Measure word
gaan1間gānExamples
People in the past liked to deposit their money in old-style banks.
Related words
Common phrases
underground bank
Common mistake
Do not use this to refer to a modern bank, as it will sound like you are accusing the bank of being an illegal, underground operation.
Grammar color guide
Noun
Verb
Adjective
Adverb
Pronoun
Classifier
Particle
Connector
Grammar guides
- LocationHow to say where something is using 喺 (hai2), place words like 度, and the common coverbs that work like English prepositions.
- Serial verbsStringing two or more verbs together without any joining word, like go to the shop buy things. Extremely common in Cantonese.
- 將 disposalHow to move the object in front of the verb with 將, to focus on what happens to it. Common in instructions and writing.
