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义卖 (yì mài) — charity bazaar

Definition

义 (yì = 'righteousness/charity') + 卖 (sell): a 'charity bazaar' — selling donated items to raise money for a cause. Measure word is 次 (one bazaar event).

noun
charity bazaar
Measure word · 次

Examples

  • 义卖，。
    Xià zhōu liù xué xiào huì jǔ bàn yí cì yì mài, chóu kuǎn gěi pín kùn dì qū de xué shēng.
    Next Saturday the school will hold a charity bazaar to raise funds for students in poor areas.
  • 义卖。
    Wǒ zài yì mài shàng mǎi le hěn duō èr shǒu shū.
    I bought a lot of second-hand books at the charity bazaar.
  • 义卖。
    Zhè cì yì mài de suǒ yǒu shōu rù dōu juān gěi le gū ér yuàn.
    All proceeds from this charity bazaar are donated to the orphanage.

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.

义yìcharity
卖màisell

义 (charity) and 卖 (sell) combine to mean selling for a good cause.

Characters in this word

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 義; 义 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
羊羊yáng
Sound part声符shēngfú
我
我wǒ義yì
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 義 has 我 giving the sound and 羊 meaning good or auspicious; the simplified 义 is a later abbreviation.

Open 义 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 賣; 卖 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 賣 came from an older shape that joined 出 (go out) with 買 (buy), which gives the sound. The simplified 卖 is a later shorthand, so its parts are not the historical ones.

Open 卖 →
Appears in
Marketing & SalesSociety & Public Life

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