商行 (shāng háng) — trading company; commercial firm

Definition

商行 is a formal/written term for a business firm, mainly used in commercial and financial contexts. More general and official-sounding than 公司, which is the everyday word for any company.

noun
trading companycommercial firm
Measure word · 家

Examples

  • 商行。
    Zhè jiā shāng háng zhǔ yào zuò jìn chū kǒu shēng yì.
    This trading company mainly does import and export business.
  • 商行。
    Tā zài yì jiā shāng háng gōng zuò le hěn duō nián.
    He worked at a commercial firm for many years.
  • 商行。
    Nà jiā shāng háng de lǎo bǎn hěn yǒu jīng yàn.
    The boss of that trading company is very experienced.

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.

商shāngtrade
行xíngfirm

商 means “trade” and 行 means “firm”, naming a trading company.

Characters in this word

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 商 →

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

  • 彳彳chì
  • 亍亍chù

The shape of 行 originally showed a street intersection, even on both sides. Later it became uneven, with 彳 on the left and 亍 on the right.

Open 行 →

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.