Chinese word

外贸

Pronunciation

Pinyinwài mào

Meaning

  • nounforeign trade

Example

我在一家外贸公司工作。wǒ zài yì jiā wài mào gōng sī gōng zuò

I work for a foreign trade company.

Illustration for 外贸 (foreign trade)

More examples

他们正在与海外客户讨论外贸合同。tā men zhèng zài yǔ hǎi wài kè hù tǎo lùn wài mào hé tóng

They are discussing a foreign trade contract with overseas customers.

Core concept

Commercial exchange that crosses national borders through the movement of goods, services, and payments.

Common phrases

  • 外贸部门wài mào bù mén

    foreign trade department

  • 外贸合同wài mào hé tóng

    foreign trade contract

  • 外贸客户wài mào kè hù

    foreign trade customer

Similar words

对外贸易duì wài mào yì: A country's or company's trade in goods and services with foreign countries.
进出口贸易jìn chū kǒu mào yì: Trade involving both exports and imports across national borders.
出口chū kǒu: The sale of domestic goods in foreign countries.
进口jìn kǒu: The purchase of goods from foreign countries for domestic use or sale.

Definition in Chinese

指国家或企业面向国外开展的商品与服务的进出口交易。zhǐ guó jiā huò qǐ yè miàn xiàng guó wài kāi zhǎn de shāng pǐn yǔ fú wù de jìn chū kǒu jiāo yì

Word origin

外贸 (wàimào, "foreign trade") is formed from 外 (wài, "outside") + 贸 (mào, "trade"), so the word presents trade as activity conducted outside the domestic market.

Usage tips

  • In everyday business talk, the word identifies a field of work, not one job duty, so a role may need a separate description of its exact responsibility.

Other meanings

  • import and exportnoun
  • overseas businessnoun

Opposites

  • 内贸nèi màodomestic tradenoun
  • 内销nèi xiāodomestic salesnoun

Related words

  • 外贸部wài mào bùforeign trade departmentnoun
  • 外贸经理wài mào jīng lǐforeign trade managernoun
  • 外贸企业wài mào qǐ yèforeign trade enterprisenoun

Word lists with this word