特价
tè jià · HSK 4
special price
🏷️ 特 (special) + 价 (price) = special price; 特价 marks discounted goods
特 means special or particular; 价 means price or value (the 亻 person radical + 介 phonetic). Together 特价 is the standard shop-sign term for a sale or markdown — what you'd see on a discount tag.
特 — cow 牛 + temple 寺 (phonetic)
Originally referred to a male bull or large ox, with 牛 'cow' as the meaning component and 寺 supplying the sound. Over time it shifted from 'bull' to 'special, particular, unique,' the sense used today.
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.