Ways to say it
| Cantonese | Romanization (Wiktionary) |
|---|---|
| 商店 | soeng¹ dim³ |
| 店鋪 / 店铺 | dim³ pou³ |
| 舖頭 / 铺头 | |
| 舖 / 铺 | pou³ |
The term refers to an establishment that sells goods. While 商店 and 舖頭 are nouns used to name the establishment itself, if you want to express the action of 'to shop' or 'to buy things', the common colloquial verb is 買嘢.
Which one should you use?
The different forms vary in their level of formality and common usage. 商店 is a more formal term often used in written Chinese or official contexts. In contrast, 舖頭 is the most common way to refer to a physical shop or storefront in everyday spoken Cantonese. The term 店鋪 is also a formal way to refer to a store or shop and is more commonly used in Mainland China.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
In casual speech, the single character 舖 can be used as a shorthand for a shop, though it is often part of the two-syllable 舖頭.
How do you pronounce it?
The romanization for 商店 is soeng¹ dim³.
Did you know?
- The character 舖 in 舖頭 is traditionally written with a radical related to 'cloth', reflecting the historical origins of many shops as textile merchants.
- When people describe a shop as 舖頭, they are often visualizing a traditional 'shophouse' where the family lived upstairs and ran the business downstairs.
- When describing a small, street-side shop, Cantonese speakers often use the term 檔口 (daang2 hau2) instead of 舖頭, referring specifically to a stall or booth.
Examples in context
- 我去咗間鋪頭買衫。I went to a shop to buy clothes.
- 你見過呢間店鋪未？Have you seen this shop before?
- 今日我去左間店，見到好多靚嘢。Today, I went to a shop and saw many beautiful things.
- 佢哋開咗個新店舖。They opened a new shop.
- 呢間商店好靚。ni1 gaan1 soeng1 dim2 hou2 leng3.This shop is very beautiful.
- 嗰間商店賣玩具。go2 gaan1 soeng1 dim2 maai6 jyun4 wai3.That shop sells toys.
Example conversation
Mei Ling and Chun Kit are walking in a shopping mall.
- 美玲 Mei Ling俊傑，你睇下嗰間商店。Zyun3 git3, nei5 tai2 haa6 go2 gaan1 soeng1 dim3.Chun Kit, look at that shop.
- 俊傑 Chun Kit嗰間商店賣啲咩呀？go2 gaan1 soeng1 dim3 maai6 di1 me1 aa3?What does that shop sell?
- 美玲 Mei Ling佢哋賣好多精美嘅禮物。keoi5 dei6 maai6 hou2 do1 zing1 mei5 ge3 lai5 mat6.They sell many beautiful gifts.
- 俊傑 Chun Kit好啊，我哋入去睇下啦。hou2 aa3, ngo5 dei6 jap6 heoi3 tai2 haa6 laa1.Okay, let's go inside and have a look.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “shop” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
