Meaning of 商人
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- merchant
- businessman
How to use 商人
商人 is a neutral noun for merchants and business people, common in news, history and everyday talk. In casual speech people often say 生意人 (shēngyirén) for the same idea. Example: 他爸爸是一个商人。(Tā bàba shì yí gè shāngrén.) His father is a businessman.
商 (shāng) means trade or business, and 人 (rén) means person. A 商人 is simply a trade person, someone who buys and sells for a living.
Common mistake: Learners sometimes write 商 like 高 (gāo, tall) because the tops look alike. 商 has 八 and an enclosed 口 shape inside, while 高 has a separate 口 near the top. Also keep the first tone on shāng, not shàng as in 上.
商人 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
商 shāng · commerce · 11 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
- 10
- 11
人 rén · person · 2 strokes
- 1
- 2
Related words
Words that share a character with 商人.
| 女人 | nǚrén | woman |
| 男人 | nánrén | a man; a male |
| 别人 | biérén | other people; others; other person |
| 家人 | jiārén | family member; (old) servant |
| 病人 | bìngrén | sick person; patient |
| 工人 | gōngrén | worker |
| 商店 | shāngdiàn | store; shop |
| 老人 | lǎorén | old man or woman; the elderly |
| 商场 | shāngchǎng | shopping mall; shopping center |
| 有人 | yǒu rén | someone; people |
| 人们 | rénmen | people |
| 大人 | dàren | adult; grownup |
Questions about 商人
What does 商人 mean?
商人 (shāngrén) means "merchant; businessman" and is used as a noun.
How do you write 商人?
商人 is made of 2 characters: 商 (11 strokes), 人 (2 strokes). That is 13 strokes in total.
Is 商人 an HSK word?
Yes. 商人 is on the HSK 2 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
What is the difference between 商人 and 老板?
商人 describes someone whose work is trade or business in general. 老板 (lǎobǎn) means boss or owner, the person in charge of a shop or company. A 商人 may or may not be someone's 老板.
Does 商人 have a negative meaning?
Usually it is neutral. In some contexts, especially older writing, it can hint at someone who cares mainly about profit, but in modern daily use it just means a business person.