买

買

mǎi

乛 + 头

HSK 2.0Level 1

HSK 3.0Level 1

Definitions

mǎi (verb) to buy; to purchase

Etymology

Pictograph of money (貝) coming out of a netted bag (网). The simplified character 买 was adapted from the cursive form of the traditional character 買.

About

Written as 買 in traditional form, the character 买 uses the cowry shell radical 贝 (traditional: 貝) at its base, linking it to ancient currency and trade. In the traditional character, the upper component 罒 represents a net, while the modern simplified form uses a modified 乛 over 头. The core meaning is to purchase or acquire goods through monetary exchange, a concept rooted in the historical use of shells as money.

Etymology Hide

Oracle (~1250-1000 BC)

Bronze Early Western Zhou (~1000 BC)

Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)

Clerical Qin dynasty (221-206 BC)

Clerical Western Han dynasty (202 BC-9 AD)

Clerical Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)

Traditional Modern

Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

我去买东西

Wǒ qù mǎi dōngxi.

I go to buy things.

他买一本书

Tā mǎi yì běn shū.

He buys a book.

我们买新房子了

Wǒmen mǎi xīn fángzi le.

We bought a new house.

她喜欢买漂亮衣服

Tā xǐhuān mǎi piàoliang yīfu.

She likes to buy beautiful clothes.

明天我要去买菜

Míngtiān wǒ yào qù mǎi cài.

Tomorrow I will go to buy groceries.

他决定购买一辆汽车

Tā juédìng gòumǎi yí liàng qìchē.

He decided to purchase a car.

为了健康她只买有机食品

Wèile jiànkāng tā zhǐ mǎi yǒujī shípǐn.

For health, she only buys organic food.

在网上买东西非常方便

Zài wǎngshàng mǎi dōngxi fēichāng fāngbiàn.

Buying things online is very convenient.

Related Characters

Composed characters:

Component: 乛

Component: 头

买