貿易商

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: 貿易商(ぼうえきしょう) combines 貿易, trade between countries, with 商, a merchant.
• Basic usage: It refers to a merchant involved in importing goods or dealing with producers in different regions.

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• Merchant and international trader
  • 商人(しょうにん) broadly means someone who buys and sells goods. 貿易商 specifies a merchant engaged in international trade.
• The activity and the person
  • 貿易 is the trading activity itself, while 貿易商として means acting in the role of an international trader.