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市场 (shì chǎng) — marketplace, physical market; market (abstract, e.g. job market, financial market)

Definition

市场 covers both a physical marketplace and an abstract market (job, financial). It is broader than 集市 (open-air bazaar/fair) and 商场 (enclosed shopping mall) — no commercial premises implied.

noun
marketplacephysical marketmarket (abstract, e.g. job market, financial market)
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 市场。
    Zhè ge shì chǎng de shuǐ guǒ hěn xīn xiān.
    The fruit at this market is very fresh.
  • 市场？
    Nǐ měi tiān qù shì chǎng mǎi cài ma?
    Do you go to the market to buy groceries every day?
  • 市场。
    Xiàn zài de jiù yè shì chǎng jìng zhēng fēi cháng dà.
    The job market is extremely competitive now.

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.

市shìmarket
场chǎngplace

市 market activity plus 场 place forms a trading place.

Characters in this word

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
兮兮xībustling
Sound part声符shēngfú
之
之zhī市shì
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The old form 市 pairs 兮, meaning bustling, with 之, the sound part.

Open 市 →

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 場; 场 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
土土tǔearth
Sound part声符shēngfú
昜
昜yáng場chǎng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 場 pairs 土 (earth) with 昜 as a sound part; the simplified 场 is a later abbreviation, so its parts do not have that historical role.

Open 场 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 4HSK 2.0 Level 4Economy & Trade3000 Most Frequent Chinese Words5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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