商い|あきないakinai[2]nakadaka (mid-high)

1. nountrade; business; trading; dealing
   彼かれはあの店みせで野菜やさいを商あきないしています。↗

   He deals in vegetables at that shop.
2. nounturnover; sales; takings

• Synonym商売しょうばいNeutralThe everyday word for running a business; also means a profession. 「商い」 sounds more traditional and refined, evoking long-established shops.
• Synonym商業しょうぎょうNeutralRefers to commerce as an industry or field, as in 「商業施設」; abstract and formal.
• SynonymトレードNeutralLoanword for trading or deals; also player transfers in pro sports. Common in sports and finance contexts.
• Synonym交易こうえきWrittenTrade or exchange of goods; written/formal prose, often in historical contexts like 「南蛮交易」.
• SynonymビジネスNeutralLoanword for business and work, very common today, as in 「ビジネスマン」; 「商い」 carries the flavor of a traditional old shop.
• Synonym営業えいぎょうNeutralBusiness operations and the sales side, as in 「営業時間」「営業マン」; leans toward the modern company.
• Synonym事業じぎょうNeutralAn enterprise or undertaking, large or small, as in 「個人事業」「新規事業」; suggests organized management, while 「商い」 is the buying and selling itself.
• Synonym売買ばいばいWrittenRead 「ばいかい」, a specialized financial term for crossing shares; for ordinary buying and selling, 「売買」 is read 「ばいばい」.
• Synonym取引とりひきNeutralTransactions and business dealings, as in 「取引先」「株式取引」; leans toward business contexts.
• Related通商つうしょうWrittenCommercial exchange between nations, as in 「通商条約」; written/formal prose.
• Related貿易ぼうえきNeutralImport/export trade; its scope is international transactions.
• Related交換こうかんNeutralExchange in a broad sense, not limited to commerce — swapping goods, information and more.
• Related販売はんばいNeutralSelling goods; centers on the seller's side, as in 「販売店」.
• Related物々交換ぶつぶつこうかんNeutralBarter — exchanging goods directly without money, unlike 「商い」 which is buying and selling for money.
• Related売り買いうりかいNeutralBuying and selling; centers on the transaction itself, without the traditional old-shop flavor of 「商い」.

Use 「商い」 for commerce in the traditional sense, as in 「商いを営む」「商い中」; it also covers trading volume on the stock market. For everyday business talk use 「商売」, for the loanword 「ビジネス」, and for transactions 「取引」.

Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only

1. 品物しなものを売買ばいばいすること。商売しょうばい。
2. 売上うりあげ。
3. 「あきなう」の連用形れんようけい。