转卖 (zhuǎn mài) — to resell (to a third party)

Definition

转卖 (zhuǎnmài) means 'to resell' — selling something you previously bought to someone else. It implies a chain of ownership transfer, not just any resale.

verb
to resell (to a third party)

Examples

  • 转卖。
    Tā bǎ jiù shū zhuǎn mài gěi le tóng xué.
    He resold the old books to a classmate.
  • 转卖。
    Wǒ zài èr shǒu wǎng zhàn shàng zhuǎn mài le yì tái diàn nǎo.
    I resold a computer on a second-hand website.
  • 转卖。
    Zhè liàng zì xíng chē mǎi lái yòng le sān gè yuè jiù zhuǎn mài le.
    This bicycle was bought, used for three months, and then resold.

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.

转zhuǎntransfer
卖màisell

转 (transfer) describes how the 卖 (sell) is done, giving resale.

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 轉; 转 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
車車jūcarriage
Sound part声符shēngfú
專
專zhuān轉zhuǎn
Same sound today

The traditional form 轉 combines 車, a carriage, with 專 as a sound part; the simplified 转 is a later shorthand.

Open 转 →

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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