Each colour is one part of the character. Parts repeat across thousands of characters, so learning them makes new words easier. See all 214 in our radicals chart.
供gōngto provide; to supply
亻person form of 人 · rén
共all · gòng
不bùno; not so
不 is a single shape of 4 strokes. Learn it whole, then watch its stroke order below.
Memory aidPicture a bar 一 across the top that nothing below can get past: not, no.
应yìngto answer
广shelter · guǎng
⺍small form of 小 · xiǎo
一one · yī
求qiúto seek
求 is a single shape of 7 strokes. Learn it whole, then watch its stroke order below.
Memory aidTraditionally said to show a fur coat, now written 裘 (qiú); some scholars see a centipede instead. Today 求 means “to ask for”.
供不应求 (gōngbùyìngqiú) means “demand exceeds supply” or “supply does not meet demand”. It is an HSK 6 word.
Say it gōngbùyìngqiú: gōng with a 1st tone, then bù with a 4th tone, then yìng with a 4th tone, then qiú with a 2nd tone. Press Listen at the top of this page to hear it, or Slowly to hear each tone clearly.
In Traditional characters, used in Taiwan and Hong Kong, 供不应求 is written 供不應求. The pronunciation is the same.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type gongbuyingqiu with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 供不应求 from the suggestions. Typing gongbuyingqiu into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
供不应求 is an HSK 6 word in the HSK 2.0 word lists.
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Sources: meaning and pinyin checked by a native Mandarin teacher against the official HSK lists. Extra meanings from CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0). Example sentences written by WillyChina. Character parts and stroke order from Make Me a Hanzi.