样品

• Pinyin: yàng pǐn
• Hanzi breakdown: 样 = 木 (wood) + 羊 (phonetic — a type, kind, or representative piece); 品 = three 口 (mouth/item — goods stacked or piled, representing a product, article, or its quality)

Meaning

Sample product; specimen; a physical example of a product provided for inspection, evaluation, or display before bulk production or purchase.

Common in manufacturing, trade, and retail: 提供样品 (to provide a sample), 样品间 (sample room/showroom), 免费样品 (free sample), 样品检测 (sample testing). Distinct from 样本 (statistical/research sample) — 样品 is always a tangible product. Also used metaphorically: 这款产品是公司转型的样品 (this product is a specimen of the company's transformation).

Examples

1. 采购商在正式下单之前，通常会要求供应商先提供少量样品，以便对产品的质量、工艺和外观进行全面的评估和检验。 Before placing a formal order, buyers usually ask suppliers to provide a small number of samples so they can thoroughly evaluate and inspect the product’s quality, workmanship, and appearance.
2. 展会上各参展商纷纷摆出最新研发的产品样品，吸引了来自国内外的众多专业买家驻足观看并洽谈合作意向。 At the expo, exhibitors displayed samples of their latest products, attracting many professional buyers from home and abroad to stop, look, and discuss potential cooperation.
3. 质检部门对该批次进口食品进行抽样检查时，从中提取了若干样品送往实验室进行成分分析和安全性评估。 When the quality inspection department performed spot checks on this batch of imported food, it took several samples and sent them to the lab for ingredient analysis and safety assessment.

Usage Guide

Context: trade, manufacturing, retail, quality control

Tone: neutral

Do Say

• 工厂在接到客户的定制订单后，先按照设计图纸制作了三件样品，经客户确认无误并签字同意后，方才正式启动批量生产流程。(After receiving the customer's custom order, the factory first produced three sample pieces according to the design drawings; only after the customer confirmed and signed off on them did production formally begin at scale.)
• 这家化妆品牌在新品上市期间向到店顾客免费赠送小包装样品，既让消费者有机会试用新产品，也有效地提升了品牌的曝光度和口碑传播。(During the launch period for its new product, this cosmetics brand gave small sample packages free of charge to in-store customers, giving consumers an opportunity to try the new product while effectively boosting the brand's exposure and word-of-mouth.)

Don't Say

• 这是研究的样品 — in a scientific or statistical research context, the correct term is 样本 (sample from a population); 样品 is a product specimen, not a research unit; mixing the two is a common error in translation from English

Origin & History

样 (type/kind/sample) + 品 (product/quality — three 口 mouths stacked, originally meaning goods or items piled together, representing a product or its quality)

Cultural Context

Era: Modern

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal