Ways to say it
| Mandarin | Romanization (Wiktionary) | IPA | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 商店 | shāngdiàn | /ʂɑŋ⁵⁵ ti̯ɛn⁵¹/ (Mandarin, Standard Chinese, Sinological IPA) | |
| 店鋪 / 店铺 | diànpù | ||
| 鋪子 / 铺子 | pùzi | ||
| 店 | diàn | /ti̯ɛn⁵¹/ (Mandarin, Standard Chinese, Sinological IPA) /tiɛn²¹³/ (Mandarin, Chengdu, Sinological IPA) |
|
| 商店 | siong-tiàm | /siɔŋ⁴⁴⁻³³ tiam¹¹/ (Min Nan, Hokkien, Quanzhou, Xiamen, Sinological IPA, Taipei, General Taiwanese) /siɔŋ⁴⁴⁻²² tiam²¹/ (Min Nan, Hokkien, Quanzhou, Xiamen, Sinological IPA, General Taiwanese) |
Hokkien |
The term refers to an establishment that sells goods. You can use specific nouns to name the type of shop, such as 书店 (bookstore), 鞋店 (shoe store) or 花店 (flower shop). When referring to small or independent businesses, the term 小店 is used to mean "small shop".
What does it mean word for word?
The word 店鋪 consists of 店 (shop) and 鋪 (store, establishment or counter).
Which one should you use?
The term 商店 is a more formal or standard term for a shop compared to the shorter 店. The term 店铺 refers specifically to a shop or store in the context of business and is used in professional or commercial settings. For a more colloquial or traditional way to refer to a small shop or storefront, use 铺子.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
While 商店 serves as a standard term, 铺子 is a more colloquial option for describing a shop.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Hokkien, the word for shop is 商店 (siong-tiàm) and in Dungan, the word is пузы.
Related words
How do you pronounce it?
siong-tiàm
Did you know?
- The character 店 originally depicted a wine jar under a roof, meaning it first referred specifically to a place that sold alcohol.
- The word for shop in Dungan, пузы, is written in Cyrillic script despite being a variety of Mandarin, reflecting the influence of the Soviet Union on Central Asian linguistic history.
- In the term 铺子, the character 铺 originally referred to a mat or a bedspread. This suggests the historical origins of shops being small spaces where goods were spread out on mats for customers to see.
Examples in context
- 這是他的店。This is his shop.This sentence shows how to use 店 to indicate possession.Tatoeba #13863114 by LeviHighway, translation #13201172 by frpzzd
- 让我去商店吧。Let me go to the shop.This sentence shows how to use 商店 to express movement toward a shop.Tatoeba #423152 by GlossaMatik, translation #12231651 by sundown
- 老人被店員騙了。Old people were tricked by the shop assistant.This sentence demonstrates the use of 店 in the context of a shop assistant.Tatoeba #1205895 by cienias, translation #1211453 by alec
- 我今天去商店买东西。I'm going to the shop to buy things today.
- 他在市中心开了一家很有名的店铺。He opened a famous shop in the city center.
- 这家店卖很便宜的衣服。This shop sells cheap clothes.
- 我喜欢逛小店，里面有很多特别的东西。I like to visit small shops, they have many unique things inside.
- 48 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Wei and Xinyi are walking in the city.
- 欣怡 Xinyi這附近有商店嗎？Zhè fùjìn yǒu shāngdiàn ma?Are there any shops nearby?
- 伟 Wei那邊有一間商店。Nàbiān yǒu yī jiān shāngdiàn.There is a shop over there.
- 欣怡 Xinyi我們進去看看吧。Wǒmen jìnqù kàn kàn ba.Let's go in and take a look.
- 伟 Wei好，走吧。Hǎo, zǒu ba.Okay, let's go.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “shop” translations and entries 商店, 店, 商店, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
