How to Discuss Money in English: 25 Workplace Word Combinations (2026) | 商務英文金錢用語

本文重點:本文整理25個台灣上班族必備的英文金錢搭配詞 (money collocations),涵蓋薪水、成本、利潤、債務與投資五大職場主題。每個搭配詞都附中文翻譯與職場例句,適合準備多益 (多益) 考試或在跨國公司處理財務英文 (商業英文) 的職場人士。掌握這些自然搭配能幫你撰寫更專業的英文email,在會議中討論數字時更有自信。

You can list every accounting term in your textbook, but a meeting still leaves you tongue-tied when the CFO asks about your team’s burn rate. Why? Because money vocabulary in English doesn’t work word-by-word—it works in collocations (英文搭配詞), pairs of words native speakers always use together. You don’t do a profit; you generate one. You don’t have fort costs; you have high ones. Get the chunk wrong, and even fluent grammar starts to sound foreign.

This guide gives you 25 essential money collocations grouped by workplace topic: pay, costs, revenue, debt, and investment. Every pair includes a Chinese translation and a real example sentence you can adapt for emails, meetings, and TOEIC (多益) reading questions.

What Are Money Collocations | 什麼是金錢搭配詞

A collocation is a pair of English words that naturally appear together. Native speakers don’t think about why—they simply sentir the pair. For money topics, getting the right collocation is critical because:

• Specificity—”Reduce costs” and “cut costs” sound similar but land differently. “Cut” is sharper and more decisive, better suited to crisis budgets.
• Tone—”Pay raise” is neutral and friendly. “Salary increase” sounds more formal in HR documents and offer letters.
• Contract accuracy—Mixing “interest rate” with “interest fee” can change the meaning of an entire loan clause. Wrong collocations create real legal risk.

Direct Chinese translation is the biggest trap. The phrase 賺錢 maps cleanly to “make money,” but 賺利潤 doesn’t become “make profit”—it becomes “generate profit” or “turn a profit.” The lesson: memorize the chunk, not the individual word.

25 Money Collocations for the Taiwan Workplace | 25個職場必備金錢搭配詞

These are the collocations you’ll use most often in Taiwan workplace English, especially if your company deals with multinational clients, finance teams, or English-language reporting.

Pay and Salary | 薪水與報酬

1. competitive salary (具競爭力的薪水)—pay that matches or beats the market. The startup offers a competitive salary plus equity.
2. base salary (底薪)—the guaranteed monthly pay before bonus or commission. My base salary is NT$80,000 before commission.
3. annual bonus (年終獎金)—a yearly performance payment. Most Taiwan firms pay an annual bonus before Lunar New Year.
4. pay raise (加薪)—an increase in salary. I’m asking for a pay raise at next quarter’s review.
5. take-home pay (實領薪水)—the salary you actually receive after tax and deductions. After tax, my take-home pay is around NT$65,000.

Costs and Spending | 成本與支出

6. hidden costs (隱藏成本)—charges not disclosed up front. Always check for hidden costs in software contracts.
7. operating costs (營運成本)—day-to-day expenses of running a business. Cloud servers reduced our operating costs by 30 percent.
8. fixed costs (固定成本)—costs that stay the same regardless of output, like rent. Rent and salaries are our biggest fixed costs.
9. cut costs (削減成本)—to reduce spending sharply. We need to cut costs without firing anyone.
10. running costs (日常營運開銷)—ongoing operational expenses. The factory’s running costs went up after the energy hike.

Revenue and Profit | 收入與利潤

11. generate revenue (產生收入)—to create income for the company. The new feature generates revenue from day one.
12. healthy profit (可觀利潤)—a strong, substantial profit. The product line delivered a healthy profit last quarter.
13. profit margin (利潤率)—the percentage of revenue kept as profit. We have a tight profit margin on hardware.
14. net profit (淨利)—profit remaining after all expenses. Net profit grew 12 percent year over year.
15. revenue stream (收入來源)—a recurring source of income. We launched a second revenue stream through subscriptions.

Debt and Payment | 債務與付款

16. pay off a loan (還清貸款)—to finish repaying borrowed money. I paid off my student loan in three years.
17. settle a debt (清償債務)—to fully resolve an amount owed. The company settled the debt with a partial cash payment.
18. outstanding balance (未結餘額)—the amount still owed. Please pay the outstanding balance by Friday.
19. interest rate (利率)—the cost of borrowing money, expressed as a percentage. The central bank raised the interest rate again.
20. credit limit (信用額度)—the maximum amount a card or account allows. My credit limit is NT$200,000.

Investment and Saving | 投資與儲蓄

21. save money (省錢)—to keep money instead of spending it. We save money by sharing the office with another startup.
22. invest in (投資)—to put money into something for future return. The team invested in a new CRM system.
23. financial freedom (財務自由)—having enough income to stop working. Most Taiwan workers want financial freedom by age 50.
24. emergency fund (緊急預備金)—savings reserved for unexpected events. Keep an emergency fund of six months’ expenses.
25. solid investment (穩健投資)—a safe, reliable investment. Index funds are a solid investment for beginners.

Common Money Vocabulary Mistakes | 常見金錢用語錯誤

These are the four mistakes Taiwan professionals make most often when translating money vocabulary directly from Chinese to English. Fix these and your written and spoken English will sound noticeably sharper.

Earn vs. Make Money | 賺錢用 Earn 還是 Make

Both work, but they carry different tones. Earn money emphasizes effort and reward—appropriate in formal contexts (She earns a six-figure salary). Make money is broader and more casual (He makes money flipping houses). Never say “win money” unless you mean a lottery.

Borrow vs. Lend | Borrow 與 Lend 方向相反

Chinese 借 covers both directions; English splits them. I borrow money from the bank—the bank gives, I take. The bank lends money to me—the bank gives, I receive. Confuse these in a contract conversation and the deal falls apart.

Pay vs. Spend | Pay 與 Spend 的用法差別

You pay for something (the action of giving money to a seller) and you spend money on something (the broader concept of using up your funds). Compare: I paid for dinner vs. I spent NT$2,000 on dinner. Never say “spend the bill”—you “pay the bill.”

Cost vs. Price | Cost 與 Price 哪裡不同

Price is what the seller asks. Cost is what you actually pay or what something requires in total. The price tag says NT$1,000, but with shipping the total cost is NT$1,200. Use “price” for fixed labels and “cost” for total outflows.

How to Learn Money Vocabulary Fast | 如何快速學會金錢英文

You don’t need a finance degree to sound fluent in workplace money conversations. Two months of focused practice can transform your written and spoken English in this area. Here’s the method that works for busy Taiwan office workers.

1. Read Financial News in English | 閱讀英文財經新聞

Choose two outlets and read them daily: Bloomberg for global markets and the Financial Times for business analysis. Both use the exact collocations native finance speakers use. Highlight every adjective + noun pair you spot (high yield, fixed costs, healthy profit) and add them to a personal notebook.

2. Build a Personal Money Vocabulary List | 建立個人金錢字彙表

Don’t track single words. Track chunks. When you learn “salary,” capture base salary / competitive salary / negotiate a salary. The chunk is the unit your brain will recall during a real conversation. Review it weekly until each pair becomes automatic.

3. Practice With an English Tutor | 與英文家教練習

A weekly session with an English tutor (英文家教) lets you test new collocations in spoken contexts. Bring 10 fresh money pairs to each lesson, use them in role-play scenarios (salary negotiation, budget review, investment pitch), and have the tutor correct unnatural pairs in real time.

4. Watch Earnings Calls on YouTube | 觀看英文財報電話會議

Apple, Microsoft, and TSMC publish quarterly earnings calls on YouTube and through the SEC. Listen to how executives describe revenue, margins, and forward guidance. You’ll notice the same 30 to 40 collocations cycle through every call—master those and you’ll understand almost any business meeting in English.

Quick Practice Exercises | 練習題

Choose the natural collocation to complete each sentence. Answers follow below the list.

1. The new manager negotiated a (competitive / strong) salary before signing.
2. Our team needs to (cut / reduce) costs by 15 percent this quarter.
3. The bonds offer a high (interest / interesting) rate this year.
4. The factory’s (running / driving) costs increased after the strike.
5. I want to (save / store) money for a down payment on a Taipei apartment.
6. The startup (made / generated) revenue from its very first week.
7. Please pay the (outstanding / standing) balance before Friday at 5 p.m.
8. Index funds are a (solid / hard) investment for beginners with no time.

Answers: 1. competitive 2. cut 3. interest 4. running 5. save 6. generated 7. outstanding 8. solid. Score 7+ and you’re ready for TOEIC Reading Part 5.

Frequently Asked Questions | 常見問題

Is “earn money” formal or casual? | Earn money 算正式還是口語

“Earn money” is neutral-to-formal. It works in business writing, performance reviews, and salary discussions. “Make money” is fine in casual conversation but can sound too informal for HR documents or executive presentations.

What’s the difference between salary and wage? | Salary 與 Wage 的差別

A salary is paid monthly or annually as a fixed amount, typical for white-collar work. A wage is paid hourly or daily, often for shift or manual labor. Most Taiwan office workers earn a salary, not a wage—use the correct word when introducing yourself in an English interview.

How many money collocations should I learn before TOEIC? | 多益前該背幾組金錢搭配

Aim for 50 high-frequency pairs, including the 25 in this article. TOEIC Reading Part 5 frequently tests money collocations as multiple-choice distractors—wrong answers are grammatically correct but use the wrong adjective or verb. Knowing the natural pair is what wins those points.

Can I use these phrases in casual conversation? | 這些片語可以用在日常對話嗎

Most of them, yes. “Save money,” “cut costs,” “credit limit,” and “annual bonus” are everyday workplace English. The more technical pairs (net profit, profit margin, revenue stream) belong to meetings and quarterly reports, not coffee chats with colleagues.

Final Takeaway | 結論

Money is one of the most discussed topics in any workplace, and getting the collocations wrong instantly marks you as a non-native speaker. Master these 25 pairs first—they cover roughly 80 percent of the money conversations you’ll have at work, in interviews, and on TOEIC. Bookmark this page, run through the practice section every Sunday for one month, and you’ll start writing and speaking about money with the same fluency as your overseas colleagues.

Sources | 參考資料

• Dictionnaire de Cambridge — money collocation entries and example sentences
• Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries — finance vocabulary reference
• Conseil britannique — business English learning resources
• Oxford Collocations Dictionary (Amazon search) — the gold-standard reference book for English learners