订货 (dìng huò) — to order goods; to place an order | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

A business verb: 'to place an order for goods.' Separable — 订 and 货 can split with a 了 or quantity in between, as in 订了一百箱货.

verb

to order goodsto place an order

Examples

订货。
Wǒ men gōng sī xū yào dìng huò.
Our company needs to order goods.
，。
Wǒ yǐ jīng dìng le huò, xià zhōu dào.
I have already placed the order; it will arrive next week.
。
Zhè cì wǒ men dìng le wǔ shí xiāng huò.
This time we ordered fifty boxes of goods.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

订dìngplace an order

订 and 货 combine: placing an order for goods.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 訂; 订 is its simplified writing.

言丁訂

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

丁

丁dīng訂dìng

Same sound today

The traditional form 訂 combines 言, related to speech, with 丁, which gives the sound; the simplified 订 is a later shorthand.

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 貨; 货 is its simplified writing.

化貝貨

Meaning part形符xíngfú

貝貝bèishell, money

Sound part声符shēngfú

化

化huà貨huò

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

The traditional form 貨 pairs 化 (sound) with 貝 (shell, money) to write valuable goods; the simplified 货 is a shorthand.

Appears in

Business & Commerce

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