Economy & Business in Chinese 经济
jīngjì
Economy in Chinese is 经济 (jīng jì).
Also searched for as: economy, business, stock market.
How does money move? 15 essential economy & business words in Mandarin Chinese, with pinyin and English. Open it in the app to hear each word, tick off the ones you know and turn them into flashcards.
The economy in Chinese is 经济 (jīng jì), a word you'll meet in news headlines and in everyday chat about prices and jobs. This vocabulary moves from the big picture, like 贸易 (mào yì), trade, and 通货膨胀 (tōng huò péng zhàng), inflation, to things closer to home, such as 价格 (jià gé), price, and 公司 (gōng sī), company. It's especially useful for business learners and anyone following Chinese-language financial news.
| Chinese | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| 经济 | jīng jì | economy |
| 商业 | shāng yè | business; commerce |
| 市场 | shì chǎng | market |
| 公司 | gōng sī | company |
| 价格 | jià gé | price |
| 投资 | tóu zī | to invest |
| 股票 | gǔ piào | shares; stocks |
| 贸易 | mào yì | trade |
| 进口 | jìn kǒu | import |
| 出口 | chū kǒu | export |
| 发展 | fā zhǎn | development |
| 增长 | zēng zhǎng | growth |
| 利润 | lì rùn | profit |
| 消费 | xiāo fèi | to consume; spending |
| 通货膨胀 | tōng huò péng zhàng | inflation |
Usage tips
- In speech 通货膨胀 is usually shortened to 通胀 (tōng zhàng). 经济 can also mean economical, as in 经济舱 (jīng jì cāng), economy class.
- 进口 (jìn kǒu) and 出口 (chū kǒu) also appear on signs: 出口 is an exit, and an entrance is usually 入口 (rù kǒu), so context tells you whether it's trade or a doorway.
- Buying and selling shares is casually called 炒股 (chǎo gǔ), literally "stir-frying shares". On mainland Chinese and Taiwanese market screens, red means a share is rising and green means it's falling, the opposite of the usual Western colours.
Common mistakes
- Saying 价格很贵 for "the price is high" → the price itself is 高 or 低: 价格很高 (jià gé hěn gāo), while the item is 贵: 这件衣服很贵 (zhè jiàn yī fu hěn guì).
- Saying 做商业 for "to do business" → the everyday phrase is 做生意 (zuò shēng yi); 商业 is the more formal concept of commerce.
- Reading 增长 as zēng cháng → here 长 is zhǎng, to grow, the same as in 长大 (zhǎng dà).
Mini dialogue
- A最近东西越来越贵了。Zuì jìn dōng xi yuè lái yuè guì le.Things keep getting more expensive.
- B是啊，通货膨胀嘛。超市的价格都高了。Shì a, tōng huò péng zhàng ma. Chāo shì de jià gé dōu gāo le.Yeah, it's inflation. Supermarket prices have all gone up.
- A你哥哥的公司怎么样？Nǐ gē ge de gōng sī zěn me yàng?How's your brother's company doing?
- B还不错，他们做国际贸易，主要出口茶叶。Hái bù cuò, tā men zuò guó jì mào yì, zhǔ yào chū kǒu chá yè.Not bad. They do international trade, mainly exporting tea.
- A那挺好的，利润高吗？Nà tǐng hǎo de, lì rùn gāo ma?That's great. Are the profits good?
Example sentences
- 这个城市的经济发展很快。This city's economy is growing fast.
- 这条街是商业中心。This street is the commercial centre.
- 妈妈每天早上去市场买菜。Mum goes to the market every morning to buy groceries.
- 这件衣服的价格有点儿高。The price of this item of clothing is a bit high.
- 他投资了一家小公司。He invested in a small company.
- 他最近在研究股票。He's been looking into shares lately.
- 这家公司做国际贸易。This company does international trade.
- 这些水果都是进口的。All this fruit is imported.
- 这个工厂的产品主要出口。This factory's products are mainly for export.
- 这个小城发展得很快。This small town has developed very quickly.
- 今年公司的收入增长了一倍。The company's income doubled this year.
- 这家店的利润不太高。This shop's profits aren't very high.
- 年轻人的消费习惯变了。Young people's spending habits have changed.
- 通货膨胀让东西越来越贵。Inflation is making things more and more expensive.
Practise speaking
Ready to use these words? The Economy & business speaking island has 8 everyday questions about economy & business to prepare your own answers to.