奖金
jiǎngjīn · HSK 4
money award
💰🏆 奖金 = prize (奖) + gold/money (金) = prize money / bonus
奖 means award or prize; 金 literally means gold and by extension money. Together 奖金 is the money you get as an award — a bonus, cash prize, or gratuity handed out for good work or winning.
奖 — 将 jiāng (phonetic) + 大 (big)
Originally written 獎 with 犬 (dog) below 將, suggesting urging a dog onward—hence 'encourage, exhort.' The simplified form replaces 犬 with 大. Meaning extended from 'encourage' to 'reward' and then to 'prize, award.'
金 — roof 亼 + two dots (metal nuggets) + earth 土
Originally a pictograph of metal nuggets buried in the earth beneath a covering, with the two dots representing pieces of ore. It first meant 'metal' broadly, then narrowed to 'gold' as the most precious metal, and by extension 'money'.