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供求 (gōng qiú) — supply and demand

Definition

供求 and 供需 both mean 'supply and demand' and are interchangeable in economic contexts. 供求 often pairs with 关系 ('供求关系'), while 供需 leans more technical (reports, analysis).

noun
supply and demand

Examples

  • 供求。
    Liǎo jiě shì chǎng de gōng qiú guān xì hěn zhòng yào.
    Understanding the market's supply-demand relationship is very important.
  • 供求。
    gōng qiú De biàn huà zhí jiē yǐng xiǎng shāng pǐn de jià gé.
    Changes in supply and demand directly affect the price of goods.
  • 供求。
    Zhèng fǔ zhèng cè kě yǐ tiáo jié shì chǎng gōng qiú.
    Government policies can regulate market supply and demand.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

供gòngsupply
求qiúdemand

“供” and “求” stand for supply and demand, paired to mean the relationship between them.

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
共
共gòng供gòng
Same sound today

供 is made of 亻, a person, and 共, which gives the sound gòng.

Open 供 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

求 began as a drawing of a centipede.

Open 求 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9

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