Selling online (e-commerce) in Chinese 电商
diànshāng
E-commerce in Chinese is 电商 (diàn shāng).
Also searched for as: e-commerce, selling online, online store, live-stream selling, Taobao shop, cross-border e-commerce.
Running a shop on Taobao, Douyin and beyond. 15 essential selling online (e-commerce) 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.
E-commerce in Chinese is 电商 (diàn shāng), short for 电子商务 (diàn zǐ shāng wù), and it's one of the fastest-moving areas of the language. Opening a 网店 (wǎng diàn), online shop, is just the start: sellers talk constantly about 爆款 (bào kuǎn), the hit product everyone wants, and 直播带货 (zhí bō dài huò), selling through live streams where a host demonstrates products in real time. These are the words you'll hear from sellers on any platform.
| Chinese | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| 电商 | diàn shāng | e-commerce |
| 开店 | kāi diàn | to open a shop |
| 网店 | wǎng diàn | online shop |
| 跨境电商 | kuà jìng diàn shāng | cross-border e-commerce |
| 直播带货 | zhí bō dài huò | live-stream selling |
| 主播 | zhǔ bō | streamer; live-stream host |
| 上架 | shàng jià | to list (a product) |
| 下架 | xià jià | to delist; to take down |
| 爆款 | bào kuǎn | bestseller; hit product |
| 销量 | xiāo liàng | sales volume |
| 好评 | hǎo píng | positive review |
| 差评 | chà píng | negative review |
| 客单价 | kè dān jià | average order value |
| 库存 | kù cún | inventory; stock |
| 包邮 | bāo yóu | free shipping |
Usage tips
- 包邮 (bāo yóu), free shipping, is so widely expected that shoppers look for it first, and you'll often see conditions in the form 满……包邮 (mǎn … bāo yóu), free shipping over a certain amount.
- 上架 (shàng jià) and 下架 (xià jià) literally mean putting on and taking off the shelf, and they're used for online products, apps and videos alike.
- Sellers take 差评 (chà píng), bad reviews, very seriously and will often message buyers to sort out a problem before one gets posted.
Common mistakes
- Saying 坏评 for a bad review: the set word is 差评 (chà píng), with 差 pronounced chà, and a good one is 好评 (hǎo píng).
- Calling an online shop a 商店 (shāng diàn), which suggests a physical store; say 网店 (wǎng diàn) or just 店, and opening one is 开店 (kāi diàn).
Mini dialogue
- A你的网店最近怎么样？Nǐ de wǎng diàn zuì jìn zěn me yàng?How's your online shop doing?
- B还不错，有一款裙子成了爆款，销量翻了一倍。Hái bù cuò, yǒu yī kuǎn qún zi chéng le bào kuǎn, xiāo liàng fān le yī bèi.Not bad. One of our dresses became a bestseller and sales doubled.
- A厉害！你们也做直播带货吗？Lì hai! Nǐ men yě zuò zhí bō dài huò ma?Impressive! Do you do live-stream selling too?
- B做，我们请了一个主播，每天晚上直播。Zuò, wǒ men qǐng le yī ge zhǔ bō, měi tiān wǎn shang zhí bō.Yes, we've hired a streamer who goes live every evening.
- A那库存够吗？Nà kù cún gòu ma?Have you got enough stock?
- B正在补货呢，不然又要下架了。Zhèng zài bǔ huò ne, bù rán yòu yào xià jià le.We're restocking now, otherwise we'll have to take it down again.
Example sentences
- 现在做电商竞争很激烈。E-commerce is really competitive these days.
- 我在淘宝上开店了。I've opened a shop on Taobao.
- 她的网店生意越来越好。Her online shop is doing better and better.
- 他做跨境电商，主要卖到美国。He does cross-border e-commerce, mainly selling to the US.
- 直播带货一晚上卖了一百万。The live stream sold a million yuan's worth in one night.
- 我们请了一个主播来带货。We've hired a streamer to sell our products.
- 新品明天上架。The new products go live tomorrow.
- 这款已经下架了。This item has been taken down.
- 这件衣服是我们店的爆款。This piece is our shop's bestseller.
- 这个月销量翻了一倍。Sales doubled this month.
- 好评对网店很重要。Good reviews really matter for an online shop.
- 一个差评影响很大。One bad review can do a lot of damage.
- 我们的客单价是一百五。Our average order value is 150 yuan.
- 双十一前要备好库存。You need to stock up before Singles' Day.
- 满九十九元包邮。Free shipping on orders over 99 yuan.
Practise speaking
Ready to use these words? The Selling online (e-commerce) speaking island has 8 everyday questions about selling online (e-commerce) to prepare your own answers to.