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店员 (diàn yuán) — shop assistant; sales clerk

Definition

noun
shop assistantsales clerk
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 店员，。
    Zhè ge diàn yuán hěn rè qíng, bāng wǒ men xuǎn le hěn jiǔ.
    This shop assistant was very enthusiastic and helped us choose for a long time.
  • 店员，？
    Qǐng wèn diàn yuán, zhè ge shāng pǐn kě yǐ dǎ zhé ma?
    Excuse me, shop assistant, can this product be discounted?
  • 店员。
    diàn yuán Gào sù wǒ nà kuǎn chǎn pǐn yǐ jīng mài wán le.
    The sales clerk told me that model has been sold out.

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.

店diànshop
员yuánmember

店 and 员 combine to mean a member working in a shop.

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
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 →

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 員; 员 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
鼎鼎dǐngding
Sound part声符shēngfú
〇
〇líng員yuán
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In the traditional form 員, 〇 supplies the sound and 鼎 supplies the meaning; the simplified 员 is a shortened form.

Open 员 →
Appears in
Professions & Jobs

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