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上等货 (shàng děng huò) — first-class goods; top-quality goods

Definition

noun
first-class goodstop-quality goods
Measure word · 件

Examples

  • 上等货，。
    Zhè jiā diàn mài de dōu shì shàng děng huò, zhì liàng hěn hǎo.
    This store only sells top-quality goods; the quality is very good.
  • 上等货。
    Tā huā le hěn duō qián mǎi le yí jiàn shàng děng huò.
    He spent a lot of money to buy a top-quality item.
  • 上等货。
    Zhè zhǒng shàng děng huò zài shì chǎng shàng hěn nán zhǎo dào.
    This kind of top-quality goods is hard to find in the market.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

上等first-class
上shàngsuperior等děnggrade
偏正Modifier + head
货huògoods

The goods are placed at the top 上等, the highest grade, so the sense is first-class goods.

Characters in this word

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

上 is drawn as a short horizontal line placed above a longer arc, marking a position above that arc.

Open 上 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
竹竹zhúbamboo
Sound part声符shēngfú
寺
寺sì等děng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The top 竹 shows bamboo strips used for writing and sorting; the bottom 寺 once gave the sound, but now sounds different.

Open 等 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 貨; 货 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
貝貝bèishell, money
Sound part声符shēngfú
化
化huà貨huò
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 貨 pairs 化 (sound) with 貝 (shell, money) to write valuable goods; the simplified 货 is a shorthand.

Open 货 →
Appears in
Good & BadShopping & Errands

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