促销 (cù xiāo) — to promote sales; to run a promotion | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

促销 is a short-term sales event with discounts or special offers — the activity itself, not the strategy. 推销 is the verb for actively pushing a product onto customers; 营销 is the broader concept of marketing.

verb

to promote salesto run a promotion

Examples

促销。
Zhè jiā chāo shì zhèng zài cù xiāo niú nǎi.
This supermarket is running a promotion on milk.
促销。
Wǒ men gōng sī měi nián chūn jié dōu huì cù xiāo.
Our company runs a promotion every Spring Festival.
促销。
Shàng ge yuè tā men cù xiāo le hěn duō yī fu.
Last month they promoted many clothes.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

促cùpromote

促 means to press or promote, 销 refers to selling, so the parts together mean to promote sales.

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.

亻足促

Meaning part形符xíngfú

亻Written in full as人rén

Sound part声符shēngfú

足

足zú促cù

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

促 pairs 亻 (person, written 人 when complete) with 足, which helps show its sound.

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 銷; 销 is its simplified writing.

金肖銷

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

肖

肖xiào銷xiāo

Same sound today

The traditional form 銷 pairs 金 (metal) with 肖 as a sound part; simplified 销 is a later shorthand, and its parts are not historical components.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 5 Marketing & Sales

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