外贸 (wài mào) — foreign trade | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

Foreign trade — commerce between a country and overseas partners. Narrower than 贸易 ('trade' in general); 经贸 is its formal written counterpart emphasizing the economics side.

noun

foreign trade

Easily confused

外貌wài màosound-alikeappearance, looks

Examples

外贸，。
Suí zhe wài mào de fā zhǎn, hěn duō gōng sī de yè wù kuò dà le.
With the development of foreign trade, many companies have expanded their business.
外贸。
Zhè jiā qǐ yè de wài mào zhǔ yào miàn xiàng ōu zhōu shì chǎng.
This company's foreign trade mainly targets the European market.
外贸。
Zhèng fǔ zhèng zài tuī dòng wài mào de shù zì huà zhuǎn xíng.
The government is promoting the digital transformation of foreign trade.

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.

外wàiforeign

外 means foreign and 贸 means trade, so 外贸 refers to foreign trade.

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

Sound part声符shēngfú

月

月yuè外wài

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

外 pairs 卜 with 月, a crescent moon; in its older form, the 卜 part had a horizontal bar extending outward, giving the sense of outside.

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.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 7-9

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