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叫卖 (jiào mài) — to hawk; to peddle (wares) by calling out loudly

Definition

verb
to hawkto peddle (wares) by calling out loudly

Examples

  • 叫卖。
    Tā zài shì chǎng lǐ dà shēng jiào mài.
    He hawked loudly in the market.
  • 叫卖。
    Xiǎo fàn de jiào mài shēng xī yǐn le hěn duō rén.
    The peddler's hawking attracted a lot of people.
  • 叫卖。
    Tā měi tiān zǎo shàng qù cài shì chǎng jiào mài zì jǐ de shuǐ guǒ.
    Every morning he goes to the vegetable market to hawk his own fruit.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

叫jiàocall out
卖màisell

叫 and 卖 work together: calling out loudly and selling goods describe hawking.

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
口口kǒumouth
Sound part声符shēngfú
丩
丩jiū叫jiào
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

叫 shows a mouth 口 and a sound part 丩. The mouth fits the old sense of shouting.

Open 叫 →

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
Marketing & Sales

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