零售 (líng shòu) — to retail, to sell in small quantities or indiv… | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

verb

to retail, to sell in small quantities or individually

Examples

零售。
Zhè jiā gōng sī zhǔ yào líng shòu diàn zǐ chǎn pǐn.
This company mainly retails electronic products.
零售。
líng shòu De jià gé bǐ pī fā gāo.
Retail prices are higher than wholesale.
零售，。
Tā men zhī zuò líng shòu, bù pī fā.
They only do retail, not wholesale.

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.

零língsmall quantities

“零” as small quantities and “售” as selling together mean retail selling.

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.

雨令零

Meaning part形符xíngfú

雨雨yǔrain

Sound part声符shēngfú

令

令lìng零líng

Same sound today

In 零, the 雨 part depicts thick raindrops falling from the sky; the 令 part gives the sound.

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 7-9 Business & Commerce Marketing & Sales

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