涨价
zhǎngjià · HSK 5
rise in price
📈 涨价 = 涨 (rise/swell) + 价 (price)
涨 means to rise or swell (think water levels going up), and 价 means price. Together they describe prices going up. The 氵 radical in 涨 hints at its original water-rising sense, later extended to any upward movement.
涨 — water 氵 + 张 (zhāng, phonetic)
涨 combines the water radical 氵 with 张 (to stretch, expand), which also gives the sound. Originally it described water swelling or rising, like a flooding river. The meaning later extended to prices or quantities going up.
价 — person radical 亻 + 介 (jiè)
价 is the simplified form of 價. The traditional form combines 亻 (person) with 賈 (merchant), pointing to the act of pricing goods. In the simplified version, 賈 was replaced by the phonetic 介, which hints at the 'jià' reading while keeping the 'person' radical for the trading sense.