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变卖 (biàn mài) — to sell off (one's property)

Definition

变卖 means to sell off property (house, equipment, furniture) — usually one's own — often under pressure such as debt or business trouble. It emphasizes liquidating assets rather than ordinary selling like 卖.

verb
to sell off (one's property)

Examples

  • ，变卖。
    Tā wèi le hái qián, bǎ fáng zi biàn mài le.
    He sold off his house to repay money.
  • ，变卖。
    Gōng sī jīng yíng bù hǎo, zhǐ hǎo biàn mài suǒ yǒu shè bèi.
    The company wasn't doing well and had to sell off all equipment.
  • 变卖。
    Lǎo rén bǎ jiā lǐ de jiù jiā jù biàn mài le.
    The old man sold off the old furniture at home.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

变biànsell
卖màisell

“变” and “卖” both refer to turning property into money, so together they mean sell off.

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 變; 变 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
攴攴pū
Sound part声符shēngfú
䜌
䜌䜌變biàn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 變 uses 䜌 as a sound part and 攴 as a meaning part.

Open 变 →

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 →
Appears in
Business & Commerce

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