超市
supermarket
chāoshì
What does 超市 mean?
超市 (chāoshì) is the standard Chinese noun for a self-service supermarket — the modern store where you grab a basket and pay at a checkout. It is a shortened form of 超级市场 (chāojí shìchǎng, 'super market'), and almost no one says the full phrase in daily life. 超市 covers everything from neighborhood chains like 沃尔玛 and 家乐福 to small 24-hour 便利店-sized branches.
Two things to note for English speakers: first, Chinese distinguishes 超市 (self-service, fixed prices) from the older 菜市场 (cài shìchǎng, open-air wet market where you bargain) and from 商场 (shāngchǎng, a department-store-style mall) — these are not interchangeable. Second, 超市 takes the measure word 家 because it is a business, not 个.
Character breakdown
super; to exceed; to surpass
market; city
Memory hook: 超 (super) + 市 (market) = supermarket. The Chinese word is a direct calque of the English term.
Measure word for 超市
Example sentences
我下班以后去超市买点东西。
Wǒ xiàbān yǐhòu qù chāoshì mǎi diǎn dōngxi.
I'll go to the supermarket to buy some things after work.
spoken
这家超市的水果很新鲜。
Zhè jiā chāoshì de shuǐguǒ hěn xīnxiān.
The fruit at this supermarket is very fresh.
neutral
周末超市里人很多。
Zhōumò chāoshì lǐ rén hěn duō.
On weekends there are a lot of people in the supermarket.
neutral
我家附近有一家大超市。
Wǒ jiā fùjìn yǒu yì jiā dà chāoshì.
There's a big supermarket near my home.
spoken
Common phrases with 超市
Synonyms
Don't confuse 超市 with
市场 is a 'market' in the broad sense — it can mean an open-air market, or abstractly 'the market' in economics (股票市场 stock market). 超市 is only the physical self-service supermarket.
商场 is a shopping mall or department store with many separate shops inside. 超市 is one single self-service grocery store, often located inside a 商场.
FAQ
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