供求

• Pinyin: gōng qiú
• Hanzi breakdown: 供 = 亻+ 共 (supply); 求 = 水 variant (seek; demand)

Meaning

Supply and demand. The fundamental economic relationship between the quantity of goods available and the quantity consumers wish to purchase.

A core concept in economics and market analysis. Often appears in fixed collocations: 供求关系 (supply-demand relationship), 供求平衡 (equilibrium), 供求矛盾 (supply-demand tension). Used in academic, policy, and journalistic writing to explain price fluctuations and market dynamics.

Examples

1. 价格的涨跌本质上由市场的供求关系决定，政策干预只能起到有限的调节作用。 Price swings are fundamentally determined by supply and demand; policy interventions can only provide limited adjustment.
2. 该城市房地产市场供求严重失衡，导致房价持续攀升多年。 In this city, a severe imbalance between housing supply and demand has driven home prices upward for years.
3. 研究人员通过分析劳动力市场的供求变化，预测了未来五年的就业趋势。 By analyzing shifts in labor supply and demand, researchers forecast employment trends for the next five years.

Usage Guide

Context: economics, business, academic, policy

Tone: neutral

Do Say

• 政府正在研究如何通过调节供求来稳定大宗商品价格。(The government is studying how to stabilise commodity prices by adjusting supply and demand.)
• 劳动力市场供求失衡是当前结构性失业的主要原因之一。(Supply-demand imbalance in the labour market is one of the main causes of current structural unemployment.)

Don't Say

• 将'供求'用于非经济语境 — 供求 is a technical economics term; in everyday contexts use 需要 or 需求 for general 'need' or 'demand'

Origin & History

供 (to supply) + 求 (to demand; to seek). A compound formed from the two halves of the supply-demand pair.

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Educated speakers