俸 (fèng): salary; stipend (of an official)

Meanings

1 salary; stipend (of an official)

Characters

俸

fèng

official's salary

Examples

古代官员的俸禄以粮食发放。

Gǔdài guānyuán de fènglù yǐ liángshi fāfàng.

In imperial times an official's salary was paid in grain.

他靠微薄的薪俸清白度日。

Tā kào wēibó de xīnfèng qīngbái dùrì.

He lived an honest life on his meager official salary.

Tips

usage

俸 is a bound character meaning official pay. It appears chiefly in 俸禄 (俸禄, 'official's salary') and 薪俸 (薪俸, 'pay/wages'); modern everyday salary is 工资 (工资).

Components

radical

亻 rén

person

亻 is the side form of 人 (person). Pay is something a person receives, so the person radical frames this as a human/social term.

phonetic

奉 fèng

to offer; phonetic and meaning

奉 gives the sound fèng directly and also lends meaning: it means 'to offer up with both hands', and a stipend is precisely pay offered to an official.