连锁

• Pinyin: lián suǒ
• Hanzi breakdown: 连 = 辶 + 车 (connect/link); 锁 = 钅 + 小 + 贝 (chain/lock — linked metal)

Meaning

Chain; linked in a series. Describes businesses, reactions, or events that are interconnected in a chain-like structure.

Used as an attributive adjective: 连锁反应 (chain reaction), 连锁经营 (chain business operation), 连锁超市 (chain supermarket). Central to discussions of business franchising and cascading consequences in finance, ecology, or social affairs.

Examples

1. 这家连锁餐厅在全国已有超过三千家门店，并持续向海外市场扩张。 This chain restaurant has more than 3,000 locations nationwide and continues to expand into overseas markets.
2. 金融危机引发了一系列连锁反应，导致多个行业相继陷入严重困境。 The financial crisis triggered a chain reaction, pushing multiple industries into serious trouble one after another.
3. 连锁经营模式通过标准化管理，有效降低了单店运营的市场风险。 The chain business model reduces the market risk of operating individual stores through standardized management.

Usage Guide

Context: business, commerce, finance, causality

Tone: neutral

Do Say

• 一家大型供应商的倒闭引发了连锁反应，波及整条产业链上的数十家企业。(The collapse of a major supplier triggered a chain reaction that affected dozens of companies along the entire supply chain.)
• 连锁经营要求各门店严格遵守总部制定的统一标准，以维护品牌形象。(Chain business operations require all outlets to strictly adhere to the unified standards set by headquarters to maintain brand image.)

Don't Say

• 将'连锁'单独用作名词指代'连锁店' — 独立使用时应说'连锁店'，'连锁'本身作形容词修饰名词时才最为自然

Origin & History

连 (link/connect) + 锁 (chain/lock) — like the interlocking links of a metal chain

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal