商贸 (shāng mào) — trade and commerce

Definition

商贸 is a formal noun for 'trade and commerce' as a sector — used in business, policy, and academic writing (e.g. 商贸合作, 经贸). More formal than 商业, which is the everyday word for 'commerce' as a field.

noun
trade and commerce

Examples

  • 商贸。
    Zhè jiā gōng sī zhǔ yào cóng shì shāng mào huó dòng.
    This company is mainly engaged in trade and commerce activities.
  • 商贸。
    Liǎng guó zhī jiān de shāng mào hé zuò yuè lái yuè mì qiè.
    The trade and commerce cooperation between the two countries is getting closer.
  • 商贸。
    Tā dà xué xué de shì shāng mào zhuān yè.
    He studied trade and commerce as his major in university.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéSide by side

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

商shāngtrade
贸màocommerce

商 and 贸 both refer to trade, so together they mean commerce broadly.

Characters in this word

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 商 →

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 貿; 贸 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
貝貝bèicowrie
Sound part声符shēngfú
卯
卯mǎo貿mào
Same sound today

The traditional form 貿, not the simplified 贸, pairs 卯, giving its sound, with 貝, a cowrie.

Open 贸 →

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