订购

• Pinyin: dìng gòu
• Hanzi breakdown: 订 = 讠+ 丁 (to arrange, subscribe); 购 = 贝 + 勾 (to purchase, procure)

Meaning

To order; to purchase in advance. Making a formal request for goods or services to be delivered at a later time.

More formal than 买 — implies advance arrangement or standing orders rather than immediate purchase. Common in business procurement, subscription services, and catalogue shopping. Often used for periodicals, bulk goods, and specialist equipment.

Examples

1. 企业可通过官方平台在线订购所需的办公设备，享受批量折扣。 Businesses can order the office equipment they need online through the official platform and receive bulk discounts.
2. 出版社每年定期向全国图书馆订购最新的学术期刊合订本。 Each year, the publishing house regularly takes orders from libraries nationwide for the latest bound volumes of academic journals.
3. 她提前三个月订购了演唱会门票，确保拿到最佳位置。 She ordered concert tickets three months in advance to make sure she got the best seats.

Usage Guide

Context: business, commerce, procurement, subscriptions

Tone: neutral

Do Say

• 公司已向供应商订购了一批高精度仪器，预计下月到货。(The company has ordered a batch of high-precision instruments from the supplier, expected to arrive next month.)
• 读者可直接在官网订购年度合订本，享受会员专属价格。(Readers can order the annual bound volume directly on the official website and enjoy member-exclusive pricing.)

Don't Say

• 我订购了一个苹果 — use 我买了一个苹果 for casual single-item purchases; 订购 implies formal advance ordering, not everyday shopping

Origin & History

订 (order/subscribe) + 购 (purchase)

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal