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商人 (shāng rén) — merchant, businessman

Definition

商人 is a person who does business — a merchant or businessperson. Compare 商业 (business as a field) and 商家 (a business/company, not a person).

noun
merchantbusinessman
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 商人。
    Zhè wèi shāng rén lái zì shàng hǎi.
    This businessman comes from Shanghai.
  • 商人。
    Hěn duō shāng rén zài shì chǎng shàng mài cài.
    Many merchants sell vegetables at the market.
  • 商人。
    Tā fù qīn shì gè chéng gōng de shāng rén.
    His father is a successful businessman.

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.

商shāngcommerce
人rénperson

商 (commerce) plus 人 (person) gives a person in business.

Characters in this word

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 商 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The shape of 人 shows a side view of a standing person, with an arm and a leg.

Open 人 →
Appears in
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