商

商 (Kangxi radical 30, 口+8, 11 strokes, cangjie input 卜金月口 (YCBR), four-corner 0022₇, composition ⿳亠丷冏)

• Kangxi Dictionary: page 194, character 32
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 3803
• Dae Jaweon: page 415, character 9
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 1, page 288, character 6
• Unihan data for U+5546

Many theories around the origin of this character exist.

• Phono-semantic compound (形聲 / 形声, OC *hljaŋ): semantic 㕯 (“to speak slowly”) + phonetic 章 (OC *kjaŋ)， according to Xu Shen. The phonetic component is contracted. It originally conveyed the meaning of "to estimate the inside from outside." Later, it came to mean "to trade" or "to engage in commerce."^[1]

• Ideogrammic compound (會意 / 会意) depicting placing and burning firewood (辛, here used as an abbreviation of 薪 (“firewood”)) on a pedestal (丙) to worship Antares. 口 was added later when this character started being used for the name of a dynasty.

The interpretation of a wine vessel on sale on a table is folk etymology.

Traditionally it is considered that 商人 (shāngrén) is so named because this term originally refers to people from Shang dynasty, who tend to do business.^[1]

From 賒 (OC *hljaː) plus terminative suffix *-ŋ (Schuessler, 2007). See there for further etymology.

商

1. to calculate; to estimate; to reckon

   • 我商賚爾。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
     我商赉尔。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

     From: The Book of Documents, circa 4^th – 3^rd century BCE

     Wǒ shāng lài ěr. [Pinyin]

     I will calculate [your merits] and bestow rewards upon you.

   • 能商功利。 [Classical Chinese, trad. and simp.]

     From: The Book of Han, circa 1^st century CE

     Néng shāng gōnglì. [Pinyin]

     able to calculate achievements and benefits

2. to discuss; to consult; to deliberate

   • 成敗之來，先史商之久矣。 [Literary Chinese, trad.]
     成败之来，先史商之久矣。 [Literary Chinese, simp.]

     From: The Book of the Later Han, circa 5^th century CE

     Chéngbài zhī lái, xiānshǐ shāng zhī jiǔ yǐ. [Pinyin]

     The coming of success and failure has been deliberated upon by earlier historians for a long time.

3. (of merchants) to trade; to do business; commerce

   • 或漁或商 [MSC, trad.]
     或渔或商 [MSC, simp.]

     From: 郭璞《江賦》

     huò yú huò shāng [Pinyin]

     some fishing, some trading

4. businessman; dealer; trader; merchant

   See also: 商賈

   • 富家之商，必奪貧室之財。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
     富家之商，必夺贫室之财。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

     From: Wang Chong, Lun Heng (Discussive Weighing), 80 CE, translated based on Alfred Forke's version

     Fùjiā zhī shāng, bì duó pínshì zhī cái. [Pinyin]

     Merchants of wealthy houses will certainly snatch away the property of poor families.

5. (music) the second note in the Chinese pentatonic scale, equivalent to "2" in numbered musical notation

   • 引商刻羽，雜以流徵。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
     引商刻羽，杂以流征。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

     From: Wen Xuan, 6^th century CE

     Yǐn shāng kè yǔ, zá yǐ liú zhǐ. [Pinyin]

     Drawing out shāng and incising yǔ, intermingled with flowing zhǐ.

6. (literary) autumn (the shāng note was associated with autumn in ancient Chinese five-phase cosmology)

   • 商風肅而害生兮 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
     商风肃而害生兮 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

     From: The Verses of Chu, 4^th century BCE – 2^nd century CE

     shāng fēng sù ér hài shēng xī [Pinyin]

     The autumn wind blows harshly and harms living things

   • 今兹商用事，餘熱亦已末。 [MSC, trad.]
     今兹商用事，余热亦已末。 [MSC, simp.]

     From: 8th century, 杜甫, 《七月三日……戲呈元二十一曹長》

     Jīn zī shāng yòngshì, yú rè yì yǐ mò. [Pinyin]

     Now autumn holds sway, and the lingering heat has come to an end.

7. (astronomy) Alternative name for 心 (xīn, “Heart mansion, one of the Twenty-Eight Mansions; also called 商星”).

   • 人生不相見，動如參與商。 [MSC, trad.]
     人生不相见，动如参与商。 [MSC, simp.]

     From: 8th century, 杜甫, 《贈衛八處士》

     Rénshēng bù xiàngjiàn, dòng rú Shēn yǔ shāng. [Pinyin]

     In life we do not meet, like the stars Shēn and Shāng [that never appear together in the sky].

8. (historical) a division on the indicator rod of an ancient water clock; a unit roughly equal to a quarter hour

   • 日入三商為昏。 [MSC, trad.]
     日入三商为昏。 [MSC, simp.]

     From: Zheng Xuan, commentary on 《儀禮·士昏禮》

     Rì rù sān shāng wèi hūn. [Pinyin]

     Three shāng after sunset is dusk.

9. (～朝) the Shang dynasty (c. 1600 – 1046 BCE)
10. (historical) alternative name for the state of Song during the Spring and Autumn period, as the ruling house descended from the Shang royal family

    • 闕為深溝，通於商魯之間。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
      阙为深沟，通于商鲁之间。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

      From: Guoyu, circa 4^th century BCE

      Què wèi shēngōu, tōng yú shāng lǔ zhī jiān. [Pinyin]

      [They] breached [the dikes] to form deep channels, connecting through to the region between Song and Lu.

11. (historical) name of various ancient places:
    1. the fief of Xie, progenitor of the Shang dynasty, in present-day Shangluo, Shaanxi
    2. a Warring States period location in present-day Xichuan County, Henan, where Shang Yang was enfeoffed
12. (mathematics) quotient (result of division)

    6除以2的商是3。  ―  6 chúyǐ 2 de shāng shì 3.  ―  The quotient of 6 divided by 2 is 3.

13. (mathematics) to yield as a quotient

    八除以二商四。  ―  Bā chúyǐ èr shāng sì.  ―  Eight divided by two yields four.

14. a surname

• (Chinese pentatonic scale) 宮 / 宫 (gōng), 商 (shāng), 角, 徵 / 征, 羽

• “商”, in 漢語多功能字庫 (Multi-function Chinese Character Database)‎^[1], 香港中文大學 (the Chinese University of Hong Kong), 2014–
• Dictionary of Chinese Character Variants (教育部異體字字典), A00600

(Third grade kyōiku kanji)

• Go-on: しょう (shō, Jōyō)^{←しやう (syau, historical)}
• Kan-on: しょう (shō, Jōyō)^{←しやう (syau, historical)}
• Kun: あきなう (akinau, 商う, Jōyō)^{←あきなふ (akinafu, 商ふ, historical)}、はかる (hakaru, 商る)
• Nanori: あき (aki)

• 農(のう)商(しょう) (nōshō): agriculture and commerce

From Middle Chinese 商 (syang, “commerce”).

• (Tokyo) しょー [shóꜜò] (Atamadaka – [1])^[1]
• IPA^(key): [ɕo̞ː]

商(しょう) • (shō) ^{←しやう (syau)?}

1. dealing, dealer, merchant
2. (arithmetic) quotient

• 被(ひ)除(じょ)数(すう) (hijosū); 除(じょ)数(すう) (josū); 剰(じょう)余(よ) (jōyo)

15th century^[2] (This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

商(あき) • (aki) 

1. (often in compounds) trade, the exchange of goods for goods, barter

   あきひと ― akihito ― a trader, person who trades

From Middle Chinese 商 (MC syang). Recorded as Middle Korean 샤ᇰ (syang) (Yale: syang) in Hunmong Jahoe (訓蒙字會 / 훈몽자회), 1527.

商 (eumhun 장사 상 (jangsa sang))

1. hanja form^? of 상 (“trade; commerce”)

• 국제퇴계학회 대구경북지부 (國際退溪學會 大邱慶北支部) (2007). Digital Hanja Dictionary, 전자사전／電子字典. [2]

商: Hán Nôm readings: thương

1. This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.