明码 (míng mǎ) — clearly marked price, marked price; plain code (as opposed to encrypted or secret code)

Definition

A compound noun with two distinct senses: in commerce it means a clearly marked, non-negotiable price (paired with 标价); in communications/crypto it means plaintext code, as opposed to 密码 (encrypted/secret code).

noun
clearly marked pricemarked priceplain code (as opposed to encrypted or secret code)

Examples

  • 明码，。
    Zhè jiā diàn de shāng pǐn dōu shì míng mǎ biāo jià, bú huì luàn shōu fèi.
    All goods in this store have clearly marked prices, no arbitrary charges.
  • 明码。
    Jiù shì diàn bào shǐ yòng míng mǎ hé mì mǎ liǎng zhǒng fāng shì.
    Old-style telegrams used both plain code and secret code.
  • 明码，。
    Wǒ men shí xíng míng mǎ shí jià, bù jiǎng jià.
    We practice fixed prices, no bargaining.

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.

明míngclear
码mǎcode

A 明 clear 码 is an openly marked price or code.

Characters in this word

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

明 combines 日 (sun) and 月 (moon), showing the sun just rising while the moon has not yet set, or two bright objects in the sky, to express brightness.

Open 明 →

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 碼; 码 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
石石shístone; rock
Sound part声符shēngfú
馬
馬mǎ碼mǎ
Same sound today

The traditional form 碼 pairs 石 (stone) with 馬 for its sound; the simplified 码 is a later shorthand.

Open 码 →

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