商人
shāngrén · HSK 2
merchant
💼 商 = commerce/trade + 人 = person; a trade-person
商 carries the sense of commerce and trade (as in 商业 business), and 人 means person. Together 商人 literally reads as commerce-person, i.e. a merchant or trader. Pronounced shāngrén with first + second tone.
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.
人 — pictograph of a standing person
人 is a pictograph showing a person viewed from the side, with two strokes representing the legs and torso of a standing human. In oracle bone script it clearly depicted a figure leaning slightly forward. The meaning has remained 'person' or 'human' throughout its history.