摊贩 (tān fàn) — street vendor; stall keeper

Definition

noun
street vendorstall keeper
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 摊贩。
    Nà ge tān fàn zài mài shuǐ guǒ.
    That street vendor is selling fruit.
  • 摊贩。
    Jiē biān de tān fàn cóng zǎo máng dào wǎn.
    The street vendors by the road are busy from morning till night.
  • 摊贩。
    Hěn duō tān fàn kào mài xiǎo chī wéi shēng.
    Many street vendors make a living selling snacks.

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.

摊tānstall
贩fànseller

摊 is a stall and 贩 is a seller, yielding a person who sells from a stall.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 攤; 摊 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
手手shǒuhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
難
難nán攤tān
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 攤 uses 手 (hand) and 難 for sound.

Open 摊 →

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 販; 贩 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
貝貝bèicowry
Sound part声符shēngfú
反
反fǎn販fàn
Same sound today

The traditional form 販 combines 貝, a cowry shell, with 反 as a sound part; the simplified 贩 is a shorthand and its right side is not a historical component.

Open 贩 →

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