促销

• Pinyin: cù xiāo
• Hanzi breakdown: 促 = 亻(person) + 足 (foot, phonetic); 销 = 钅(metal) + 肖 (resemble, phonetic)

Meaning

To promote sales; sales promotion. Activities designed to boost product sales.

Widely used in commercial contexts to describe discounts, special offers, marketing campaigns, and any activity aimed at increasing sales. Common in both spoken and written Chinese. Often seen on store signs, advertisements, and online shopping platforms.

Examples

1. 超市正在搞促销活动，很多东西都打折了。 The supermarket is running a promotion — lots of things are discounted.
2. 这款手机最近在促销，比平时便宜了五百块。 This phone model is currently on sale, five hundred yuan cheaper than usual.
3. 商家经常在节假日推出各种促销方案吸引顾客。 Retailers often launch various promotional campaigns during holidays to attract customers.

Usage Guide

Context: shopping, business, marketing

Tone: neutral

Do Say

• 这家店正在促销，我们去看看吧。(This store is having a sale — let's go take a look.)
• 促销期间买东西很划算。(It's a great deal to buy things during a promotion.)

Don't Say

• 把促销和打折完全等同 (Don't treat 促销 as identical to 打折 — 促销 is the broader marketing activity; 打折 specifically means giving a discount)

Origin & History

促 (urge/hasten) + 销 (sell/market) — to hasten sales, meaning to actively push products to sell faster.

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal