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市集 (shì jí) — market; fair (where goods are bought and sold, often periodic)

Definition

市集 (shìjí) refers to a market or fair, often a periodic, open-air one where farmers and vendors gather to sell goods. More vivid and event-like than a plain 商店 or 超市.

noun
marketfair (where goods are bought and sold, often periodic)
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 市集。
    Zhè ge zhōu mò zhèn shàng yǒu yí gè hěn dà de shì jí.
    There is a big market in town this weekend.
  • 市集。
    Nóng mín men bǎ shū cài hé shuǐ guǒ dài dào shì jí shàng mài.
    The farmers bring their vegetables and fruits to sell at the market.
  • 市集，。
    shì jí Lǐ fēi cháng rè nao, dào chù dōu shì jiào mài shēng.
    The market is very lively, with hawking sounds everywhere.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

市shìmarket
集jífair

“市” (market) and “集” (fair) combine to mean a market fair.

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
兮兮xībustling
Sound part声符shēngfú
之
之zhī市shì
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The old form 市 pairs 兮, meaning bustling, with 之, the sound part.

Open 市 →

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

集 pairs 隹 (bird) with 木 (tree), showing birds on a tree, hence a gathering.

Open 集 →
Appears in
Shopping & Errands

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