賈 meaning and stroke order
Merchant; to buy, to trade; surname
How to write 賈, stroke by stroke
13 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
- 7
- 8
- 9
- 10
- 11
- 12
- 13
Meaning of 賈
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- merchant
- to buy
How 賈 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Money.
貝 gives the meaning and 覀 hints at the sound.
Radical: 貝 (sea shell), shared by 62 characters on this site.
How to remember 賈
Picture a cover 覀 placed over a shell 貝, an old symbol of money. A merchant keeps his money tucked under a lid, and 貝 tells you this character is about buying and trading.
When it means merchant or to trade, 賈 is read gǔ and appears mostly in literary or set phrases. As a surname it is read jiǎ and is very common. Example: 商賈雲集 (shānggǔ yúnjí) merchants gather in great numbers.
Common mistake: Learners often read 商賈 as shāngjiǎ, but in the merchant sense it is gǔ. Also do not confuse 賈 with 價 (jià, price), which has the person radical 亻 on the left.
Common words with 賈
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 商賈 | shānggǔ | merchant | HSK 7-9 |
Characters that contain 賈
Learning 賈 makes these easier to recognize and write.
Questions about 賈
How many strokes are in 賈?
賈 is written with 13 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 賈 mean?
賈 (jiǎ) means merchant; to buy, to trade; surname. A common word with it is 商贾 (shānggǔ), meaning "merchant".
How do you pronounce 賈?
賈 is pronounced jiǎ, in the third tone (dipping).
What is the radical of 賈?
The radical of 賈 is 貝, which carries the idea of "sea shell". Dictionaries list 賈 under this radical.
What is the simplified form of 賈?
賈 is a traditional character. Its simplified form is 贾, used in mainland China and Singapore.
When is 賈 read jiǎ and when is it read gǔ?
Read it jiǎ as a surname, such as 賈寶玉 (Jiǎ Bǎoyù) from Dream of the Red Chamber. Read it gǔ when it means merchant or to trade, as in 商賈 (shānggǔ).
Is 賈 used for buying things in modern Chinese?
Not in everyday speech. People say 買 (mǎi) to buy and 商人 (shāngrén) for merchant, so 賈 in this sense mainly shows up in classical texts and idioms.