街市 (jiē shì) — street market, market street; commercial distri…

Definition

A street lined with shops and stalls where people shop and stroll — more of a lively commercial street than a single building like a 商场.

noun

street marketmarket streetcommercial districtdowntown shopping area

Easily confused

街市，。
Zhōu mò de jiē shì fēi cháng rè nao, yǒu hěn duō xiǎo fàn zài mài dōng xī.
The street market is very lively on weekends, with many vendors selling things.
街市。
Zhè ge chéng shì de jiē shì shì yóu kè zuì xǐ huan guàng de dì fāng.
This city's commercial street is the place tourists most like to stroll around.
街市，。
Wǒ men yǐ qián zhù zài jiē shì fù jìn, mǎi dōng xī hěn fāng biàn.
We used to live near the market street, so shopping was very convenient.

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéSide by side

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

街 and 市 refer to streets and markets, together mean a commercial area.

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

圭

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

街 combines 行 and 圭: 行 is the meaning part, and 圭 is the sound part. Originally, 圭 drew a pair of ritual axes, not earth.

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

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.