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商店 (shāng diàn) — store; shop

Definition

General word for a 'store' or 'shop' — smaller than a 商场 (mall). Compared to 店, 商店 sounds slightly more formal and is the everyday term for a retail shop.

noun
storeshop
Measure word · 家, 个

Examples

  • 商店。
    Wǒ zài shāng diàn lǐ.
    I am in the store.
  • 商店。
    Nà ge shāng diàn hěn xiǎo.
    That store is very small.
  • 商店。
    Wǒ men qù shāng diàn ba.
    Let's go to the store.

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shāngbusiness
店diànshop

商 (business) plus 店 (shop) gives a place that sells goods.

Characters in this word

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 商 →

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
广广guǎnghouse built to depend on a cliff
Sound part声符shēngfú
占
占zhàn店diàn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

店 shows 广, a house built to depend on a cliff, and 占, which gives the sound.

Open 店 →
Appears in
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