讨价还价
tǎo jià huán jià · HSK 7
to haggle over price
💰🤝 讨价 ask a price + 还价 return a price = the back-and-forth of bargaining
Two halves mirror each other: 讨价 one side names a price, 还价 the other gives a price back. The repeated 价 (price) signals the volley back and forth that is haggling. 还 here means return or give back, not its other reading hái.
讨 — speech radical 讠 + inch 寸
A semantic-phonetic compound combining 讠 (speech) with 寸 (a hand/measure), suggesting demanding or seeking through words. The original sense was to denounce or punish verbally, which broadened over time to mean 'to demand,' 'to ask for,' and 'to discuss.' Modern uses like 讨论 (discuss) and 讨厌 (detest) reflect this range.
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.
还 — 辶 (walk) + 不 (not) — phonetic
还 is the simplified form of 還. The traditional form combines the walking radical 辶 with 睘 (a phonetic element originally depicting an eye over a ring), suggesting 'to go around and return.' The simplified 还 keeps 辶 and replaces 睘 with 不 as a simpler phonetic. Core meaning: return, still, also.
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.