银行 (yínháng) — bank

银行 (yínháng)

银行 is the standard word for a bank — the financial institution where you deposit money, make transfers, take out loans, and exchange currency. 银 means "silver" (a historical reference to silver as currency) and 行 means "business establishment / trade." Together they evoke a silver-dealing establishment.

Meanings

1. [noun] Bank; financial institution.

Example Sentences

我要去银行取一些钱。 Wǒ yào qù yínháng qǔ yīxiē qián. I need to go to the bank to withdraw some money.

请问附近有银行吗？ Qǐngwèn fùjìn yǒu yínháng ma? Excuse me, is there a bank nearby?

他在银行工作，负责贷款业务。 Tā zài yínháng gōngzuò, fùzé dàikuǎn yèwù. He works at a bank and is responsible for loan services.

我需要在银行开一个账户。 Wǒ xūyào zài yínháng kāi yīgè zhànghù. I need to open an account at the bank.

Collocations

Memory Hook

银 (silver) plus 行 (trade establishment). In imperial China, trading houses dealt in silver bars. The modern bank is just a very large, very official silver-trading house — so the name stuck.