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批发 (pī fā) — to wholesale; to sell in bulk

Definition

批发 (pīfā) means to sell goods in bulk at wholesale prices — the act of wholesaling itself. Unlike 流通 or 物流, which describe how goods move through channels or supply chains, 批发 focuses on the buyer purchasing large quantities, usually for resale.

verb
to wholesaleto sell in bulk

Examples

  • 。
    Wǒ men zhí jiē cóng gōng chǎng pī fā shāng pǐn.
    We wholesale goods directly from the factory.
  • 批发。
    pī fā Zhè zhǒng shāng pǐn xū yào hěn dà de cāng kù.
    Wholesaling this kind of goods requires a big warehouse.
  • 批发。
    Tā men pī fā le hěn duō diàn zǐ chǎn pǐn.
    They wholesaled a lot of electronic products.

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.

批pībatch
发fāsend out

批发 joins 批 'batch' and 发 'send out', meaning to send goods out in batches.

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
手手shǒuhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
比
比bǐ批pī
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

批 puts 手 (hand) beside 比, which gives the sound.

Open 批 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 發; 发 is its simplified writing.

The simplified 发 stands for more than one traditional character. In most words (爆发, 出发) it is 發; in others (理发, 头发) it is 髮.

The form 發, which 发 stands for in many words, was originally drawn as a bow firing an arrow.

Open 发 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9HSK 2.0 Level 6Business & Commerce

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