店 (diàn) means "shop, store" with HSK 2 on the new exam.
Pronunciation
Meaning
Primary: shop
Other meanings:
- store
Etymology
Oracle-bone origin
店 is a late character with no oracle-bone form. It is a phono-semantic compound of 广 (a roof or lean-to shelter, the semantic) and 占 (to occupy or divine, the phonetic giving the reading diàn). The structure depicts a roofed space occupied for a commercial purpose.
Form evolution
Because 店 appears only from the Han dynasty onward, it has no oracle-bone or bronze stage. Seal and clerical forms already show the stable 广 + 占 structure. Modern 楷 preserves the layout exactly, with the sloping 广 radical covering 占 underneath.
How the meaning evolved
From its coinage 店 meant a roadside stall or shop, a place where goods were laid out for sale under a rough shelter. The meaning broadened through the Tang dynasty to include inns and lodging houses (旅店). Modern Mandarin uses it for all retail premises: 书店 (bookshop), 饭店 (restaurant or hotel), 商店 (shop).
Cultural note
饭店 is a classic learner trap: in mainland usage it usually means a hotel rather than a restaurant, a Tang-era sense preserved in the modern word. The shift from 'roadside stall' to 'hotel' mirrors the history of Chinese trade routes, where shops and inns were often the same building.
Basic info
| Pinyin | diàn |
| Meanings | shop, store |
| New HSK exam | Recognise at HSK 2 |
| Frequency | #394 most common |
Example sentences
Words containing 店
On the new HSK 2 exam
Studying for HSK 2? Keep 店 with the rest of your level.
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Frequently Asked Questions
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Reviewed by RJ Murray, Founder, HSK Lord.