银行卡 from HSK Level 2 Vocabulary List

The Chinese word 银行卡 (yínhángkǎ) is a compound word consisting of two characters: 银行 (yínháng), meaning "bank", and 卡 (kǎ), meaning "card". The word 银行卡 is used to refer to a bank card, which is a physical card issued by a bank that allows customers to access their bank accounts and perform various financial transactions, such as making payments, withdrawing cash, and transferring funds.The character 银行 (yínháng) is derived from the Chinese characters 银 (yín), meaning "silver", and 行 (háng), meaning "row" or "line". In ancient China, banks were often referred to as "silver houses" because they were primarily involved in the storage and exchange of silver. The character 卡 (kǎ) is derived from the Chinese character 札 (zhá), which originally meant "a piece of wood" or "a bamboo slip". In modern Chinese, the character 卡 is used to refer to a variety of cards, including bank cards, credit cards, and ID cards.The word 银行卡 (yínhángkǎ) is a relatively new term in the Chinese language. It was first used in the early 20th century, when banks in China began to issue bank cards to their customers. Today, bank cards are widely used in China and are an essential part of everyday life.