HSK 6 · Money

供不应求 gōngbùyìngqiú “demand exceeds supply” in Chinese

Traditional 供不應求

What 供不应求 means

  1. demand exceeds supply
  2. supply does not meet demand

How to say 供不应求

  • Pitch chart of the first tone: stays high and level, 5 to 5 on the five-level scale供gōng1st tone, high and level
  • Pitch chart of the fourth tone: falls from high to low, 5 to 1 on the five-level scale不bù4th tone, falling
  • Pitch chart of the fourth tone: falls from high to low, 5 to 1 on the five-level scale应yìng4th tone, falling
  • Pitch chart of the second tone: rises from mid to high, 3 to 5 on the five-level scale求qiú2nd tone, rising

供不应求 in a sentence

  1. 这种新手机供不应求,很难买到。

    Zhè zhǒng xīn shǒujī gōngbúyìngqiú, hěn nán mǎidào.

    Demand for this new phone far exceeds supply, so it’s hard to get.

    Sentence by WillyChina

  2. 周末的电影票常常供不应求。

    Zhōumò de diànyǐngpiào chángcháng gōngbúyìngqiú.

    Weekend cinema tickets often sell out.

    Sentence by WillyChina

How 供不应求 is built

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.

The character 供 (gōng) with each of its parts in a different colour
供gōngto provide; to supply
  • 亻person form of 人 · rén
  • 共all · gòng
The character 不 (bù) drawn as one shape
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.

The character 应 (yīng) with each of its parts in a different colour
应yìngto answer
  • 广shelter · guǎng
  • ⺍small form of 小 · xiǎo
  • 一one · yī
The character 求 (qiú) drawn as one shape
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”.

How to write 供不应求

供 8 strokes · 不 4 strokes · 应 7 strokes · 求 7 strokes

Watch the order, then press Try writing it and draw each stroke in the grid. Each stroke is checked as you go.

供不应求 (gōngbùyìngqiú) stroke order chart: each stroke of the characters in the order you write them
Stroke order chart for 供不应求 (gōngbùyìngqiú). Red marks the next stroke, so you can copy it onto paper one step at a time.

Words related to 供不应求

Words with 供

Words with 不

Words with 应

Words with 求

More words: Money & Economy

FAQs

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.