商贾

商賈
shānggǔ
noun HSK 7-9

Measure Word

Meanings

  1. 1 merchants
  2. 2 traders

Characters

Traveling merchants and settled shopkeepers - merchants in general, used in literary contexts.

Examples

HSK 5
Nà shíhou, jǐ ge dà shānggǔ kòngzhì zhe dāngdì de jīngjì.
Back then, a few big merchants controlled the local economy.
HSK 6
Gǔdài shānggǔ yúnjí yú cǐ.
In ancient times, merchants gathered here in great numbers.

Tips

history
Originally 商 meant a traveling merchant and 贾 a settled shopkeeper. Together 商贾 is a literary/classical term for merchants in general. Note: 贾 is read gǔ here, not jiǎ (as in the surname).
register
商贾 is a literary/formal word rarely used in everyday speech. Modern equivalents are 商人 or 生意人. You'll encounter 商贾 in historical texts and formal writing.

Stroke Order

商 shāng
贾 jiǎ