贾 meaning and stroke order
Merchant; to buy, to trade; surname
How to write 贾, stroke by stroke
10 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
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Meaning of 贾
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- merchant
- to buy
How 贾 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Money.
贝 gives the meaning and 覀 hints at the sound.
Radical: 贝 (sea shell), shared by 63 characters on this site.
How to remember 贾
Picture a covered box 覀 sitting on top of a pile of shells 贝 (bèi), the old form of money. A merchant keeps his money under a lid, so 贾 is about buying, selling and trading.
Today you will mostly see 贾 as a surname, read jiǎ, as in 贾宝玉 (Jiǎ Bǎoyù), the hero of the novel Dream of the Red Chamber. In the sense of merchant or trade it is read gǔ and appears in formal or classical words such as 商贾 (shānggǔ) merchant: 古代的商贾很有钱。(Gǔdài de shānggǔ hěn yǒu qián.) Merchants in ancient times were very rich.
Common mistake: Learners often read 商贾 as shāngjiǎ, but in the merchant sense the character is pronounced gǔ. Also do not confuse 贾 with 价 (jià, price) or 假 (jiǎ, fake), which sound similar but are written differently.
Common words with 贾
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 商贾 | shānggǔ | merchant | HSK 7-9 |
贾 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 贾
How many strokes are in 贾?
贾 is written with 10 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 贾 mean?
贾 (jiǎ) means merchant; to buy, to trade; surname. A common word with it is 商贾 (shānggǔ), meaning "merchant".
How do you pronounce 贾?
贾 is pronounced jiǎ, in the third tone (dipping).
What is the radical of 贾?
The radical of 贾 is 贝, which carries the idea of "sea shell". Dictionaries list 贾 under this radical.
What is the traditional form of 贾?
The traditional form of 贾 is 賈. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 贾 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
Is 贾 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 贾 is part of the HSK 7-9 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
How do I know whether to read 贾 as jiǎ or gǔ?
If it is a person's surname, read it jiǎ. If it means merchant or trading, usually in classical or literary words like 商贾, read it gǔ.
Is 贾 a common Chinese surname?
Yes, 贾 (Jiǎ) is a fairly well known surname in China. Famous examples include the actress 贾玲 (Jiǎ Líng) and the Jia family in Dream of the Red Chamber.