Character: 商 (shāng) business

商
Pinyin shāng
Meaning business; commerce; to negotiate; to trade; to discuss
Radical 口 繁體字 same
Two writing patterns can be found in the character 商 (shāng) business: 丷, which is a variation of 八, highlighted in red; and 口, highlighted in yellow 丷/八
口

writing patterns, not components

n/acategory: n/a

Chinese character up down structurestructure: up down

11stroke count

HSK 1

Stroke order of the Chinese character 商 (shāng) business. There are 11 strokes, and the character is written from top to bottom

The glyph origin of 商 (shāng) is unknown. Today, this character means “business.”

Used as a morpheme/word

商 (shāng) cannot be used alone as a word. Instead, it is only used as a morpheme to signify “business.” Since business requires negotiation, 商 (shāng) took on the meaning “to negotiate” and “to discuss.”

Wordlist

  • HSK 1: 商店 (shāngdiàn) store
  • HSK 4: 商量 (shāngliang) to discuss
  • HSK 5: 经商 (jīngshāng) to trade
  • HSK 5: 商品 (shāngpǐn) commodity
  • HSK 5: 商务 (shāngwù) commercial affairs

How to pronounce

First, say shan, as in “shan’t,” but ends with an ng sound. Then, move the tip of your tongue backward while it is touching the roof. Once you can feel the slope, stop right there, hold still, and say it again.

1st Pinyin Yale IPA
Initial sh- sh [ʂ]
Final -ang ang [ɑŋ]

Chinese character practice sheet

Download PDF