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倒卖 (dǎo mài) — to scalp, to profiteer by reselling (often illegally)

Definition

To buy and resell goods (often scarce, regulated, or illegally obtained) for profit — a transactional verb focused on the resale act itself, not on smuggling or general trade.

verb
to scalpto profiteer by reselling (often illegally)

Examples

  • 倒卖。
    Tā yīn wèi dǎo mài yǎn chàng huì mén piào bèi jǐng chá zhuā le.
    He was caught by the police for scalping concert tickets.
  • ，倒卖，。
    Yì qíng qī jiān, yǒu rén dǎo mài kǒu zhào, zhuàn le hěn duō qián.
    During the pandemic, some people resold masks at a profit and made a lot of money.
  • 倒卖。
    dǎo mài Wén wù shì wéi fǎ de xíng wéi.
    Reselling cultural relics is illegal.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

倒dǎoresell
卖màisell

倒 means resell or transfer, and 卖 means sell; together they describe selling goods for profit.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
亻Written in full as人rén
Sound part声符shēngfú
到
到dào倒dào
Same sound today

倒 combines 亻 (person) with 到, which gives the sound.

Open 倒 →

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
Business & Commerce

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