Commercial bank (商业银行)

Commercial bank (商业银行 shāng yè yín háng) is a kind of bank (银行 yín háng) in the financial industry (行业 háng yè) that support business (商业 shāng yè) by accepting deposits and makes various loans, whose benefits are mainly from earning interest of loans.

Part 1: Breakdown of Words

• “Commercial” (商业 shāng yè) as in “commercial real estate” (商业地产 shāng yè dì chǎn).
  • “商” (shāng) as in “business” (商业 shāng yè), “merchant” (商人 shāng rén), or “business school” (商学院 shāng xué yuàn).
  • “业” (yè) as in “industry” (工业 gōng yè), “profession” (职业 zhí yè), or “unemployment” (失业 shī yè).
• “Bank” (银行 yín háng) derives from:
  • “银” (yín) as in “silver” (白银 bái yín), “silver-colored” (银色 yín sè), or “silver screen” (银屏 yín píng).
  • “行” (háng) as in “industry” (行业 háng yè), or “rank” (行列 háng liè).

Part 2: Examples

1. Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (中国工商银行 zhōng guó gōng shāng yín háng).
2. Commercial Bank of Australia (澳大利亚商业银行 ào dà lì yà shāng yè yín háng).