物资

• Pinyin: wù zī
• Hanzi breakdown: 物 = 牛 + 勿 (ox + negation mark — material goods); 资 = 次 + 贝 (next/second + shell/value — resources, capital)

Meaning

Materials; supplies; goods and materials needed for production, military operations, or disaster relief.

Frequently used in the context of emergency relief, military logistics, industrial production, and government resource allocation. Implies bulk quantities of essential goods rather than individual items. Common in official reports and news coverage of large-scale operations.

Examples

1. 灾区急需大量救援物资，政府已紧急调拨粮食、帐篷和医疗用品。 The disaster area urgently needs large quantities of relief supplies, and the government has rushed in food, tents, and medical supplies.
2. 战略物资的储备与管理是保障国家安全的重要组成部分。 Stockpiling and managing strategic materials is an important part of safeguarding national security.
3. 这批捐赠物资经清点后将统一分配给受灾最严重的三个乡镇。 After being inventoried, this batch of donated supplies will be distributed as a whole to the three towns hit hardest by the disaster.

Usage Guide

Context: disaster relief, military logistics, industrial production, government allocation, emergency management

Tone: neutral

Do Say

• 洪灾发生后，各地援助物资在72小时内汇聚到省级仓库，民政部门按灾情轻重优先调拨到重灾区。(After the flood, relief supplies from all over the country gathered at the provincial warehouse within 72 hours, and civil affairs officials prioritized shipments to the hardest-hit areas.)
• 白皮书专章讨论战略物资储备现代化，指出在复杂国际安全形势下，建立高韧性储备网对国家安全至关重要。(The white paper devotes a chapter to modernizing strategic material reserves and says that, in a complex international security situation, building a resilient reserve network is vital to national security.)

Don't Say

• 物资 for individual consumer goods or household items — use 商品 or 货物; 物资 specifically refers to bulk materials or supplies for large-scale operations, relief, or production

Origin & History

物 (things, goods) + 资 (resources, capital, supplies) — material resources; physical supplies

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal