卖

賣

mài

买 + 十

HSK 2.0Level 2

HSK 3.0Level 1

Definitions

mài (verb) to sell

mài (verb) to betray

mài (verb) to show off; to flaunt

Etymology

Phonosemantic compound. 出 represents the meaning and 买 represents the sound. Simplified form of 賣.

Semantic: 买 Phonetic: 买

About

卖 is the simplified form of 賣. In the traditional character, 出 (chū, 'go out') hints at the notion of selling, while 買 (mǎi, 'buy') , which contains the cowrie shell radical 貝 (bèi) representing currency , supplies the sound. The simplified version stacks 十 on top of 买, the simplified form of 買, keeping the shell radical as 贝. Its core meaning is to sell goods in exchange for money, and this commercial sense later expanded into figurative uses: betraying one's principles, selling out friends or country, or expending effort in a transactional way.

Etymology Hide

Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)

Clerical Western Han dynasty (202 BC-9 AD)

Traditional Modern

Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

他在卖报纸。

Tā zài mài bàozhǐ.

He is selling newspapers.

我卖了一些书。

Wǒ mài le yīxiē shū.

I sold some books.

这家店卖很多衣服。

Zhè jiā diàn mài hěn duō yīfu.

This shop sells a lot of clothes.

她把旧玩具卖给了朋友。

Tā bǎ jiù wánjù mài gěi le péngyou.

She sold her old toys to a friend.

农民在市场上卖新鲜蔬菜。

Nóngmín zài shìchǎng shàng mài xīnxiān shūcài.

Farmers sell fresh vegetables in the market.

为了赚钱，他决定卖自己的画。

Wèile zhuàn qián, tā juédìng mài zìjǐ de huà.

In order to make money, he decided to sell his own paintings.

这家公司专门卖环保产品。

Zhè jiā gōngsī zhuānmén mài huánbǎo chǎnpǐn.

This company specializes in selling eco-friendly products.

在网络上卖东西需要很好的营销策略。

Zài wǎngluò shàng mài dōngxī xūyào hěn hǎo de yíngxiāo cèlüè.

Selling things online requires good marketing strategies.

Related Characters

Composed characters:

Component: 买

Component: 十

卖