Example sentences
shāng商diàn店kāi开mén门le了ma吗？
Is the shop open?
shāng商diàn店zài在nà那biān边。
The shop is over there.
The story behind the character
商
The earliest 商 is a vessel of some kind (the origin is disputed). It later meant the Shang dynasty, then "merchant". Because the Shang survivors made their living trading. So the 商 in "shop" began as the leftover people of a fallen dynasty.