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便宜货 (pián yi huò) — bargain merchandise; cheap goods (often implying low quality)

Definition

便宜货 are cheap goods that are often low quality — the negative sense is foregrounded ('cheap stuff', not 'a good deal'). Compared with 便宜 (just 'cheap'), this noun implies poor build or low-grade materials.

noun
bargain merchandisecheap goods (often implying low quality)
Measure word · 件

Examples

  • 便宜货，。
    Tā mǎi le hěn duō pián yi huò, jié guǒ zhì liàng dōu bù hǎo.
    He bought a lot of cheap goods, and the quality was all bad.
  • 便宜货，。
    Zhè xiē pián yi huò kàn qǐ lái bú cuò, dàn shì yòng bù jiǔ.
    These bargain items look good, but they don't last long.
  • 便宜货。
    Tā xǐ huan zài dǎ zhé de shí hou mǎi pián yi huò.
    She likes to buy bargains when there's a sale.

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.

便宜cheap
便biànconvenient宜yísuitable
联合Coordinate
货huògoods

便宜 comes from 便 and 宜, suggesting something suitable or cheap, while 货 means goods.

Characters in this word

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

便 pairs 亻 (person) with 更 (to change), showing a person changing posture to become comfortable.

Open 便 →

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

宜 shows 且, a sacrificial altar, with 多, two pieces of meat, depicting two pieces of meat placed on the altar.

Open 宜 →

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.

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.

Open 货 →
Appears in
Shopping & Errands

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