Chinese Character Wiki
商

shāng

commerce, business

Original meaning: 

to measure; estimate

Composed of 辛 (chisel) and 丙 (pedestal). The exact connection of these components are unclear. 口 was later added as a distinguishing component for the name of an ancient kingdom. Based on the original meaning "to measure; estimate". The meaning later shifted to "commerce" and "business".

Components
辛 unknown component

辛  Unknown component

xīn

  

laborious

The purpose of this component is unclear.

丙 unknown component

丙  Unknown component

bǐng

  

third

The purpose of this component is unclear.

口 distinguishing component

口  Distinguishing component

kǒu

  

mouth

This component was later added when the character was used for the name of an ancient kingdom.

Evolution

商 Oracle script (~1250-1000 BC)

Oracle script

(~1250-1000 BC)
商 Bronze script Late Shang dynasty (~1100 BC)

Bronze script

Late Shang dynasty (~1100 BC)
商 Seal script Shuowen (~100 AD)

Seal script

Shuowen (~100 AD)
商 Clerical script Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)

Clerical script

Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)
商 Regular script Modern

Regular script

Modern
Definitions

商  

shāng

commerce, business, trade; commerce; merchant; dealer; to consult; 2nd note in pentatonic scale; quotient (as in 智商[zhì​shāng], intelligence quotient)

商  

Shāng

Shang Dynasty (c. 1600-1046 BC); surname Shang

Most common words with 商
Freq.
Word
Meaning

商

commerce

商业

business

商店

store

商品

commodity

商量

to consult

Component uses

Sound component in 2 characters (0 verified)

熵 墒

Historical pronunciation

Old Chinese

Middle Chinese

Pinyin

Gloss

*s-taŋ

syang

shāng

musical note

*s-taŋ

syang

shāng

(place name)

*s-taŋ

syang

shāng

estimate; business; trader


Statistics

HSK level 1

Appears in 49.5275% of movies

832nd most common character in movies

402nd most common character in books

Miscellaneous

Strokes

11

Unicode

U+5546

Shuowen

“商，从外知內也。从，章省聲。，古文商。，亦古文商。，籀文商。”


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