代理行 (dài lǐ háng) — commission agent; agency store that sells goods on behalf of others

Definition

noun
commission agentagency store that sells goods on behalf of others
Measure word · 家

Examples

  • 代理行。
    Zhè jiā dài lǐ háng zhuān mén mài jìn kǒu huà zhuāng pǐn.
    This commission agent specializes in selling imported cosmetics.
  • 代理行，。
    Tā men kāi le yì jiā dài lǐ háng, bāng běn dì shǒu gōng yì rén mài chǎn pǐn.
    They opened an agency store to help local artisans sell their products.
  • 代理行，。
    Zhè jiā gōng sī zuò wéi dài lǐ háng, dài lǐ le duō gè wài guó pǐn pái.
    This company acts as a commission agent, representing several foreign brands.

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.

代理agency
代dàion behalf of理lǐmanage
偏正Modifier + head
行xíngshop

“代理” means acting as an agent and “行” means shop or firm, so together they mean an agency store.

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
亻Written in full as人rénperson
Sound part声符shēngfú
弋
弋yì代dài
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In 代, 亻 shows a person, and 弋 gives the sound.

Open 代 →

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
玉玉yùjade
Sound part声符shēngfú
里
里lǐ理lǐ
Same sound today

理 pairs 玉 (jade) with 里, which shows how to say it; the jade part points to the old sense of polishing jade.

Open 理 →

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

  • 彳彳chì
  • 亍亍chù

The shape of 行 originally showed a street intersection, even on both sides. Later it became uneven, with 彳 on the left and 亍 on the right.

Open 行 →

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