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商贾 (shāng gǔ) — merchant (formal, often in historical or literary contexts)

Definition

商贾 (shāng gǔ) is a literary, historical collective term for merchants — used in writing about ancient or traditional China, not in modern daily talk. Compare 商人 (a single, everyday merchant) and 商业 (commerce/trade as an industry).

noun
merchant (formal, often in historical or literary contexts)

Examples

  • 商贾。
    Gǔ dài shāng gǔ tōng guò sī chóu zhī lù bǎ sī chóu yùn wǎng xī fāng.
    Ancient merchants transported silk to the West via the Silk Road.
  • 商贾，。
    Zhè wèi shāng gǔ lè shàn hào shī, zài dāng dì hěn yǒu shēng yù.
    This merchant was fond of doing good and generous in giving, and had a fine reputation locally.
  • 商贾。
    Shū zhōng jì zǎi le xǔ duō táng dài shāng gǔ de gù shi.
    The book records many stories of Tang Dynasty merchants.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

商shāngtrade
贾jiǎmerchant

商 (trade) and 贾 (merchant) both concern selling goods, so the word names a merchant.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 賈; 贾 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
貝貝bèishellfish
Sound part声符shēngfú
襾
襾yà賈gǔ
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 賈 pairs 貝 (shellfish) with 襾 as a sound component. The simplified 贾 is a later shorthand, and its parts are not the historical components.

Open 贾 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Business & CommerceProfessions & Jobs

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