商人 (しょうにん, shounin) Japanese meaning: merchant

商人 (しょうにん, shounin) Japanese meaning: merchant | Kotomora

Kanji

商make a deal, selling, dealing in
人person

Related words

商しょう売ばい人にん
商売人 is a colloquial term that often implies a shrewd or street-smart businessperson, while 商人 is a neutral, formal term for anyone who buys and sells goods.
貿ぼう易えき商しょう
貿易商 refers specifically to a trader engaged in international trade, whereas 商人 is a broader term covering any merchant, big or small.
実じつ業ぎょう家かN1
実業家 suggests a large-scale businessperson or entrepreneur running a company, while 商人 more often evokes a smaller-scale trader or shopkeeper.
業ぎょう者しゃN1
業者 refers to a business or dealer (often a company) supplying goods or services, while 商人 focuses on an individual person who trades.

Opposites

消しょう費ひ者しゃN2
商人 is the one who sells goods for profit, while 消費者 is the one who buys and uses them.

Don't confuse with

証しょう人にんN1
商人 (a merchant) and 証人 (a witness) are pronounced identically but refer to completely unrelated concepts.
小しょう人にん
小人 (しょうにん, child fare category) is a homophone of 商人 (しょうにん, merchant); they share pronunciation but have completely unrelated meanings.

Counted with

人にん
商人 is counted with 人 (にん), the standard counter for people.

Word family· 17

商しょう人にん街まち
business street; merchant quarter
旅たび商しょう人にん
peddler; traveling merchant
行ぎょう商しょう人にん
peddler; hawker; itinerant merchant
闇やみ商しょう人にん
black marketeer; black market trader

Written forms

商人Usage99%
- しょうにん
  Standard modern reading and spelling.
- あきんど
  Historical reading, now uncommon; may appear in period works or traditional contexts.
- あきうど
  out-dated reading

Etymology

Compound of 商 (commerce, trade) and 人 (person). The reading しょうにん is the standard Sino-Japanese on'yomi. The alternative readings あきんど, あきうど, etc., are older native Japanese readings that have fallen out of use.

商しょう人にん

Meanings

Usage patterns

Expressions