daigou

IPA/ˈdaɪ.ɡəʊ/
IPA/ˈdaɪ.ɡoʊ/

daigou — noun

  • daigousingular
  • daigousplural

1. a person who lives in one country and buys products on behalf of customers in Ch

1.nounB2
Definition

a person who lives in one country and buys products on behalf of customers in China, usually because the items are more affordable or not available there.

Example

Shanti works as a daigou in Tokyo, sending Japanese skincare products to clients in Shanghai.

daigou + location — typical pairing of person with city/country

Andrés, a daigou based in Milan, regularly ships designer handbags to buyers in Guangzhou.

Common collocations
  • daigou agent
  • daigou business
  • daigou industry
  • daigou market
  • daigou shopper
  • daigou network
  • work as a daigou
  • hire a daigou
Synonyms
  • cross-border shopper

    wider term that can refer to anyone buying across borders, not specifically for clients in China

  • proxy buyer

    more general, used in any third-party purchasing context; less common in everyday English

  • personal shopper

    broader role that may serve local clients; lacks the specific cross-border China connotation of daigou

Grammar Patterns

daigou + noun (daigou agent, daigou business)

Usage Note

A relatively recent loanword from Chinese, 'daigou' entered English around 2010 as cross-border e-commerce from China expanded. It always implies the buyer is outside China and the customer is inside China — unlike a general 'personal shopper' who might work within the same city. Frequently used attributively (daigou shopper, daigou market).

Common Mistakes

She works as a daigou in London, buying gifts for local friends.
She works as a daigou in London, sending goods to customers in China.
daigou always involves a cross-border China-to-outside-China relationship.
The daigou industry in Singapore helps tourists buy local items.
The daigou industry in Singapore helps customers in China buy Singaporean products.
the end customer must be in China.

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

These terms all describe someone who buys goods for another person, but 'daigou' is the most specific. A daigou always lives outside China and serves customers inside China — the term carries cultural and economic context tied to the Chinese outbound shopping trend since the 2010s. 'Cross-border shopper' is a broader, more formal label covering anyone buying from another country, whether for themselves or others. 'Proxy buyer' focuses on the act of purchasing as a substitute, common in auction or limited-release scenarios, but lacks the regional specificity of daigou. 'Personal shopper' is the most general — it can apply to someone shopping in the same city for a local client, and it does not imply any cross-border transaction. For example, calling someone 'your daigou in Australia' tells a Chinese reader exactly what service is offered, whereas 'your personal shopper in Australia' could mean a local Sydney-based service for other Sydneysiders.

daigou ↗cross-border shopperproxy buyerpersonal shopper

Common collocations

Nouns

Phrases

  • work as a daigou
  • hire a daigou

Etymology

ChineseEnglish

From Mandarin Chinese 代購 (dàigòu), a compound of 代 (dài, 'on behalf of') and 購 (gòu, 'to purchase'). The term was adopted into English around 2010 as Chinese outbound tourism and cross-border e-commerce grew rapidly. In Chinese, 代購 can refer both to the practice of proxy purchasing and to the person who carries it out.