囤积居奇 (tún jī jū qí) — to hoard goods and corner the market (for profi…

Definition

A formal chengyu meaning to hoard goods and drive up prices for profit, used of unethical business behavior. Strongly negative, like 'to profiteer by hoarding'.

idiom

to hoard goods and corner the market (for profiteering)

Examples

,囤积居奇。
Zhàn zhēng qī jiān, yì xiē shāng rén kào tún jī jū qí fā le hèng cái.
During the war, some businessmen profiteered by hoarding and cornering the market.
囤积居奇。
Zhèng fǔ yán lì dǎ jī yì qíng qī jiān de tún jī jū qí xíng wéi.
The government cracks down hard on hoarding and market manipulation during the epidemic.
囤积居奇，。
Tā men lì yòng wù zī duǎn quē de jī huì tún jī jū qí, yǐn qǐ gōng fèn.
They took advantage of the material shortage to hoard and corner the market, arousing public anger.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéSide by side

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

囤积store up

囤túnstore积jīaccumulate

联合Side by side

居奇hold rare goods

居jūhold奇qírare goods

动宾Verb + object

囤积 means to store up goods, while 居奇 means to hold rare goods for profit; together they describe hoarding to corner a market.

Characters in this word

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 囤 →

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 積; 积 is its simplified writing.

禾責積

Meaning part形符xíngfú

禾禾hé

Sound part声符shēngfú

責

責zé積jī

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

The traditional form 積 pairs 禾 (grain) with 責, which gives the sound; the simplified 积 is a later shorthand, so its parts are not the historical parts.

Open 积 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

尸古居

Meaning part形符xíngfú

尸尸shī

Sound part声符shēngfú

古

古gǔ居jū

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

居 is built from 尸 as the meaning part and 古 (gǔ) as the sound part.

Open 居 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.