协商
xiéshāng · HSK 6
talk things over
🤝💬 xie = together + shang = discuss: cooperate-talk
The first character 协 means cooperate or jointly, and 商 means discuss or merchant. Together they form consult — people coming together to talk things over and reach agreement.
商 — 亠 lid + 丷 + 冏 window/enclosure
In oracle bone script 商 depicted a raised platform or altar-like structure, and it served as the name of the Shang dynasty and its capital region. The modern components are a late simplification of that pictograph and carry no separate meaning. The sense 'trade, merchant' arose later, traditionally linked to Shang people who travelled to buy and sell after their dynasty fell.