商 meaning and stroke order
Commerce, business, trade
How to write 商, stroke by stroke
11 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
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- 8
- 9
- 10
- 11
Meaning of 商
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- commerce
- merchant
- dealer
- to consult
- 2nd note in pentatonic scale
- quotient (as in 智商[zhi4 shang1], intelligence quotient)
How 商 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Bright.
冏 gives the meaning and 章 hints at the sound.
Radical: 口 (mouth), shared by 428 characters on this site.
How to remember 商
Picture a market stall: a roof on top (亠 and 丷) over 冏, which the data links to the idea of bright. A brightly lit shop under a roof is where business, 商 (shāng), happens.
商 appears mostly in compound words about trade and shopping, such as 商店 (shāngdiàn) and 商人 (shāngrén). It also means to consult in 商量 (shāngliang). Example: 我们商量一下。(Wǒmen shāngliang yíxià.) Let's talk it over.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 商 with 啇 (dī) or 滴 (dī), which look similar; 商 has the 冏 shape with 八 inside the box, not 古. Also note that 商量 is said shāngliang with a neutral tone on the second syllable.
Common words with 商
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 商店 | shāngdiàn | store; shop | HSK 1 |
| 商场 | shāngchǎng | shopping mall; shopping center | HSK 1 |
| 商量 | shāngliang | to consult; to talk over | HSK 2 |
| 商人 | shāngrén | merchant; businessman | HSK 2 |
| 商业 | shāngyè | business; trade | HSK 3 |
| 商品 | shāngpǐn | commodity; goods; merchandise | HSK 3 |
| 商务 | shāngwù | commercial affairs; commercial | HSK 4 |
| 商标 | shāngbiāo | trademark; logo | HSK 5 |
| 协商 | xiéshāng | to consult with; to talk things over | HSK 6 |
| 厂商 | chǎngshāng | manufacturer; producer | HSK 6 |
| 工商 | gōngshāng | industry and commerce | HSK 6 |
| 商城 | shāngchéng | shopping center; department store | HSK 6 |
| 智商 | zhìshāng | IQ (intelligence quotient) | HSK 7-9 |
| 商讨 | shāngtǎo | to discuss; to deliberate | HSK 7-9 |
商 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 商
How many strokes are in 商?
商 is written with 11 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 商 mean?
商 (shāng) means commerce, business, trade. A common word with it is 商店 (shāngdiàn), meaning "store; shop".
How do you pronounce 商?
商 is pronounced shāng, in the first tone (high and level).
What is the radical of 商?
The radical of 商 is 口, which carries the idea of "mouth". Dictionaries list 商 under this radical.
Is 商 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 商 is part of the HSK 1 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard, and you are expected to write it by hand from HSK 2.
What does 商 mean in 智商?
In 智商 (zhìshāng), 商 means quotient, the result of division in math. So 智商 is intelligence quotient, or IQ, and 情商 (qíngshāng) is emotional intelligence.
What is the difference between 商店 and 商场?
商店 (shāngdiàn) is a general word for a shop or store of any size. 商场 (shāngchǎng) usually means a large shopping mall or department store with many shops inside.