市场经济
shì chǎng jīng jì · HSK 7
economy
🏪💰 市场 = market + 场 (field/venue) + 经济 = economy; literally market economy
市场 (shìchǎng) = market/marketplace, where 市 is city/market and 场 is an open field or venue. 经济 (jīngjì) = economy. Stack them: the economy run by the marketplace, a market economy.
市 — top 亠 + cloth 巾
Originally a pictograph of a marketplace banner or sign post above a stall, indicating a place of trade. The character came to mean 'market', and by extension 'city' or 'town', since markets were the centers of urban life. The modern form combines a top stroke with 巾 (cloth/banner).
场 — earth 土 + 昜 (bright/rising)
Originally a flat open ground used for sun-drying grain or for ritual offerings, hence 土 'earth' as the meaning component. 昜 supplies the sound and hints at an open, sunlit space. The meaning broadened to any open area or venue, and as cháng it still refers to a threshing floor or a session/spell of something.
经 — silk radical 纟 + 巠 (underground stream)
Originally written 經, combining the silk radical 糸 with 巠, depicting vertical threads on a loom. The core meaning was 'warp threads,' which extended to 'pass through,' 'classic text,' and 'manage.' The phonetic 巠 also suggests the sound.