银行
bank
yínháng
What does 银行 mean?
银行 (yínháng) is the standard Chinese noun for a 'bank' — the financial institution where you deposit money, take out loans, or change currency. Literally 'silver + firm/business,' a relic from the era when silver was the main currency. Two pronunciation traps for learners: the second character 行 has two readings — háng ('row; profession; firm') in 银行, but xíng ('to walk; OK') in 走路, 行不行.
Saying yínxíng is the single most common beginner mistake. In daily life Chinese speakers usually specify a bank by name (中国银行 Bank of China, 工商银行 ICBC) and most banking happens via mobile apps (手机银行) rather than at branches. The measure word is 家 for the institution, but 个 is fine in casual speech.
Character breakdown
silver
firm; line of business; row
Memory hook: 'Silver firm' — back when silver was money, the place that handled silver was the bank.
Measure word for 银行
Example sentences
我下午要去银行。
Wǒ xiàwǔ yào qù yínháng.
I need to go to the bank this afternoon.
spoken
银行几点关门？
Yínháng jǐ diǎn guānmén?
What time does the bank close?
spoken
请把钱存到银行。
Qǐng bǎ qián cún dào yínháng.
Please deposit the money in the bank.
neutral
我在中国银行工作。
Wǒ zài Zhōngguó Yínháng gōngzuò.
I work at the Bank of China.
neutral
现在很多人用手机银行。
Xiànzài hěn duō rén yòng shǒujī yínháng.
Many people use mobile banking now.
neutral
Common phrases with 银行
Don't confuse 银行 with
Same character, different reading. 行 read as xíng means 'OK / acceptable' or 'to walk.' In 银行 it is háng. Memorize 银行 = yínháng as a fixed chunk.
钱 is 'money' itself — what you keep in a 银行. Don't say 我去钱 ('I go to money'); say 我去银行 ('I go to the bank').
银 alone means 'silver' (the metal or color). The institution is 银行