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Etymology data from Wiktionary via Wiktextract (CC BY-SA 4.0). Chinese character data from the 說文解字, the Taiwan MOE 國語辭典簡編本 (CC BY-ND 3.0 TW) and HSK/TOCFL lists.

Explanations are written by a local model (gemma4) and only published after a verification pass against the cited sources. How it works.

Chinese

貨真價實

/xu̯ɔ⁵¹ ʈ͡ʂən⁵⁵ t͡ɕi̯ä⁵¹ ʂɻ̩³⁵/
high quality at a decent price; genuine goods at fair prices
  • 貨眞價實
  • 货真价实
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The components of the phrase originate from cowrie shells, symbolizing authentic goods and fair value in ancient commerce.
The components of the phrase originate from cowrie shells, symbolizing authentic goods and fair value in ancient commerce.

Origin

The phrase 貨真價實 is composed of four characters. The character 貨 refers to money and goods or property; it contains the semantic component 貝 (shellfish; cowrie) and the phonetic component 化 (to change; to transform). The character 真 means true, genuine, real, or actual; it uses the semantic component 貝 (shellfish; cowrie) and the phonetic component 𠂈.

The character 價 means price or cost, formed with the semantic component 人 (man; person; people) and the phonetic component 賈 (a surname). The character 實 means full, fulfilled, substantial, or rich. The character 賈 itself consists of the semantic component 貝 (shellfish; cowrie) and the phonetic component 襾 (cover).

Confidence: high · written by gemma4:26b, checked statement-by-statement against the sources below.

Lineage

  • characterChinese貨 “money and goods; property”
    • soundChinese化 “to change; to transform”
    • meaningChinese貝 “shellfish; cowrie”
  • characterChinese真 “true; genuine; real; actual”
    • soundChinese𠂈
  • characterChinese價 “price; cost”
    • meaningChinese人 “man; person; people (Classifier: 個／个 m c; 隻／只 h)”
    • soundChinese賈 “a surname”
      • soundChinese襾 “cover”
  • characterChinese實 “full; fulfilled; substantial; rich”
    • ideaChinese宀 “a type of deep house with walls on all four sides, a roof, a main hall, and back rooms”
    • ideaChinese周 “to circle; to encircle”
    • componentChinese貫 “a string of one thousand coins”
Wiktionary etymology text

No etymology text yet. The graph shows what is known from the sources.

Meanings

phrase
  1. high quality at a decent price; genuine goods at fair prices

國語辭典 definitions

  1. 貨品純正而價格實在。 例：他賣的東西貨真價實，深受顧客喜愛。
  2. 形容實在而不虛假。 例：他的論文貨真價實，很有創見，頗具參考價值。

© Ministry of Education, Taiwan — CC BY-ND 3.0 TW, shown unaltered.

Sources

  • etymagent (local gemma4:26b) — Generated
  • 教育部《國語辭典簡編本》 (Taiwan MOE) — CC BY-ND 3.0 TW
  • Written form — n/a
  • Wiktionary (via Wiktextract / kaikki.org) — CC BY-SA 4.0