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卖家 (mài jiā) — seller

Definition

The seller side of a transaction (person or shop selling something). Paired with 买家: the one who sells vs the one who buys.

noun
seller
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 卖家。
    Zhè ge mài jiā de shāng pǐn zhì liàng hěn hǎo.
    This seller's product quality is very good.
  • 卖家。
    Hěn duō mài jiā dōu jiē shòu wēi xìn zhī fù.
    Many sellers accept WeChat Pay.
  • 卖家，。
    Zuò wéi mài jiā, tā fēi cháng liǎo jiě kè hù xū qiú.
    As a seller, he understands customer needs very well.

Origin

Derived word
构词法gòucífǎ
后缀hòuzhuìSuffix

A fixed syllable at the end that turns the word into a noun, a person, a place or the like.

卖màisell
家jiāperson

卖 and 家 combine selling with a person to mean seller.

Characters in this word

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 →

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
宀宀miánroof
Sound part声符shēngfú
𢑓
𢑓𢑓家jiā
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The early drawing of 家 showed a roof 宀 over a male-pig sign 𢑓 that gave the pronunciation; the lower part later changed shape.

Open 家 →
Appears in
Marketing & Sales

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