赊 (shē) — to buy or sell on credit
Definition
赊 (shē) means to buy or sell on credit — the seller lets the buyer take the goods now and pay later. It focuses on the trust/deferral of payment, not the loan itself (which is 借).
verb
to buy or sell on credit
Examples
- 赊，。Méi qián kě yǐ xiān shē zhe, děng fā gōng zī zài hái.You can take it on credit first, then pay back when you get your salary.
- 赊。Lǎo bǎn tóng yì shē gěi wǒ yì tái diàn nǎo.The boss agreed to sell me a computer on credit.
- 赊。Zhè jiā shāng diàn cóng lái bù shē dōng xī.This store never sells things on credit.
Origin
Sound + meaning六书liùshū
形声xíngshēngMost 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 賒; 赊 is its simplified writing.
Meaning part形符xíngfú
貝貝bèishell
Sound part声符shēngfú
余
余yú賒shē
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.
The traditional form 賒 has 貝 (shell) beside 佘, which supplies the sound.
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