city · market

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: 市 denotes a city or market; its on-reading is し and its kun-reading is いち.
• Basic usage: 市(し) means a city or municipality. 市場 is read いちば or しじょう, with different uses.

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• Two readings of 市場
  • 市場(いちば) refers to a physical marketplace, with stalls displaying fish or restaurants where people eat.
  • 市場(しじょう) refers to a market for trade. 中古車市場 means the used-car market and 海外市場 means overseas markets, in contexts about trading trends or whether a product will be accepted.