水货

水貨

shuǐhuò

noun HSK 7 #57,211

Measure Word

一批水货 pī

Meanings

1 smuggled goods
2 parallel imports
3 gray market goods
4 knockoff

Characters

goods; merchandise

Literally 'water goods' — goods smuggled by water, hence parallel imports or fakes

Examples

这部手机是水货，没有保修。

Zhè bù shǒujī shì shuǐhuò, méiyǒu bǎoxiū.

This phone is a gray market import — it has no warranty.

买水货虽然便宜，但有风险。

Mǎi shuǐhuò suīrán piányi, dàn yǒu fēngxiǎn.

Buying parallel imports is cheaper but risky.

Tips

culture

In China and Hong Kong, 水货 often refers to electronics imported through unofficial channels (parallel imports) rather than outright counterfeits. The opposite is 行货 (xínghuò) — officially imported goods with warranty.

Stroke Order

水 shuǐ

货 huò