卖淫 (mài yín) — to engage in prostitution; prostitution

Definition

A formal/sociological term for 'to engage in prostitution' (卖 = sell, 淫 = lewdness). Used in news, law, and academic writing rather than everyday speech.

verb

to engage in prostitutionprostitution

Examples

卖淫。
Tā bú zài mài yín le.
She no longer engages in prostitution.
。
Tā mài guò yí cì yín.
She engaged in prostitution once.
。
Nà ge rén mài le sān nián yín.
That person engaged in prostitution for three years.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

卖màisell

淫yínlewdness

卖 is 'sell' and 淫 is 'lewdness', together meaning to sell oneself sexually.

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.

出出chūgo out
買買mǎibuy

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.

氵㸒淫

Meaning part形符xíngfú

氵Written in full as水shuǐwater

Sound part声符shēngfú

㸒

㸒㸒淫yín

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The shape combines 氵 (the water form of 水) with 㸒, which supplies the sound.

Open 淫 →

Appears in