Meaning of 商城
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- shopping center
- department store
- see 商城縣|商城县[Shang1 cheng2 Xian4]
How to use 商城
商城 is used for large shopping centers and, very often today, for online stores, as in 网上商城 (wǎngshàng shāngchéng, online mall). It often appears in names of malls and e-commerce platforms. Example: 我们周末去商城买衣服吧。(Wǒmen zhōumò qù shāngchéng mǎi yīfu ba.) Let's go to the mall this weekend to buy clothes.
商 (shāng) means trade or business, and 城 (chéng) means city. A 商城 is a whole "city of trade," a big place packed with shops under one roof.
Common mistake: Learners often mix up 城 (chéng, city) with 成 (chéng, to become) because they sound the same. 城 has the earth radical 土 on the left, so remember that a city is built on the ground.
商城 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
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城 chéng · city walls · 9 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 商城.
| 商店 | shāngdiàn | store; shop |
| 商场 | shāngchǎng | shopping mall; shopping center |
| 商量 | shāngliang | to consult; to talk over |
| 商人 | shāngrén | merchant; businessman |
| 城市 | chéngshì | city; town |
| 商业 | shāngyè | business; trade |
| 商品 | shāngpǐn | commodity; goods; merchandise |
| 长城 | Chángchéng | the Great Wall |
| 商务 | shāngwù | commercial affairs; commercial |
| 城里 | chénglǐ | |
| 商标 | shāngbiāo | trademark; logo |
| 城镇 | chéngzhèn | town; cities and towns |
Questions about 商城
What does 商城 mean?
商城 (shāngchéng) means "shopping center; department store" and is used as a noun.
How do you write 商城?
商城 is made of 2 characters: 商 (11 strokes), 城 (9 strokes). That is 20 strokes in total.
Is 商城 an HSK word?
Yes. 商城 is on the HSK 6 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
What is the difference between 商城 and 商场?
Both can mean shopping mall. 商场 (shāngchǎng) is the most common everyday word for a physical mall, while 商城 sounds a bit grander and is widely used in mall names and for online shopping platforms.
What does 商城 mean when it is capitalized as Shāngchéng?
As a proper noun it refers to Shangcheng County, 商城县 (Shāngchéng Xiàn), a place name in China. In everyday conversation you will almost always meet the common meaning of shopping center.