存折
cún zhé · HSK 7
passbook
📖💰 store + fold — a folded booklet that stores your bank balance
存 means to store or deposit. 折 means to fold or a folded sheet. Together they name the folded ledger a bank gives you to track deposits and withdrawals.
存 — 才 (talent/sprout) + 子 (child)
Originally written with 才 (a sprout breaking ground) over 子 (child), suggesting a child being raised or kept alive. The character came to mean 'to exist, to remain, to preserve.' Modern uses like 存在 (exist) and 保存 (preserve) reflect this core sense of continued being.
折 — hand 扌 + axe 斤
Originally written as 折 with a hand (扌) breaking or chopping something with an axe (斤), depicting the act of snapping or cutting in two. The core meaning 'to break, snap, fold' extends metaphorically to 'bend,' 'turn back,' and 'discount' (as in reducing a price by breaking off part).