贱卖 (jiàn mài) — to sell at a low price; to sell cheaply

Definition

verb
to sell at a low priceto sell cheaply

Examples

  • 贱卖。
    Tā bǎ jiù diàn qì dōu jiàn mài le.
    He sold all the used appliances cheaply.
  • 贱卖。
    Zhè jiā shāng diàn zhèng zài qīng cāng jiàn mài.
    This store is having a clearance sale.
  • 贱卖。
    Wǒ bù xiǎng yǐ zhè me dī de jià gé jiàn mài wǒ de huà.
    I don't want to sell my painting at such a low price.

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.

贱jiàncheaply
卖màisell

贱 (cheaply) and 卖 (sell) together mean selling at a low price.

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 賤; 贱 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
貝貝bèi
Sound part声符shēngfú
戔
戔jiān賤jiàn
Same sound today

The traditional form 賤 uses 貝 to carry the meaning and 戔 for the sound; the simplified 贱 is a later shorthand.

Open 贱 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 賣; 卖 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 賣 came from an older shape that joined 出 (go out) with 買 (buy), which gives the sound. The simplified 卖 is a later shorthand, so its parts are not the historical ones.

Open 卖 →

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