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贩卖 (fàn mài) — to sell (especially illegal or disreputable goods); to traffic; to peddle

Definition

贩卖 focuses on the illegal or disreputable side of selling — trafficking people, counterfeit goods, stolen data. Use 销售/出售 for ordinary legal sales, 兜售 for pushy peddling, and 出卖 for betraying people.

verb
to sell (especially illegal or disreputable goods)to trafficto peddle

Examples

  • 贩卖。
    Zhè ge tuán huǒ zhuān mén fàn mài fù nǚ hé ér tóng.
    This gang specializes in trafficking women and children.
  • 贩卖。
    Shì chǎng lǐ jīng cháng yǒu rén fàn mài jiǎ bāo.
    In the market, people often sell fake bags.
  • 贩卖。
    Wǎng shàng fàn mài gè rén xìn xī shì wéi fǎ xíng wéi.
    Selling personal information online is illegal.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

贩fàntrade
卖màisell

The parts for trade and selling combine to stress dealing in goods, often illicitly.

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 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 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 賣; 卖 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 賣 came from an older shape that joined 出 (go out) with 買 (buy), which gives the sound. The simplified 卖 is a later shorthand, so its parts are not the historical ones.

Open 卖 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9HSK 2.0 Level 6Crime & Police

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