(mǎi) - to buy, to purchase in Mandarin
mǎiTraditional: 買
Translation
to buy, to purchase
Word origin
买 (mǎi) 'to buy' originally showed a net (网) over 贝 'cowrie shell', the old form of money, depicting the act of catching goods with money. The traditional form is 買.
- Origin
- compound
- Root
- 网 (net) over 贝 (cowrie shell, money)
Stroke order
买
Examples
衬衫。
I want to buy a shirt.
？
Where did you buy it?
。
She bought a lot of things.
。
I am going to the supermarket to buy some things.
双鞋。
This pair of shoes was bought last week.
买 (mǎi) - to buy, to purchase.
Used in
Stories
(4)Grammar articles
(13)Mandarin Aspect Markers: 了, 在/正在, 过 - the System That Replaces Tense
Mandarin Grammar Cheatsheet: The Essentials, One Page
Concession in Mandarin: 虽然...还是/但是, 不过, and 还是 (Although, Even So, Nonetheless)
Mandarin Verb Conjugation: Why It Doesn't Exist and What Replaces It
Asking How + Adjective in Mandarin with 多: 多高, 多远, 多长, 多大
Mandarin Intermediate Grammar (B1-B2 / HSK 4-5): Complements, Conjunctions and the Full 了 System
The Two 了 in Mandarin: Completion 了 After the Verb vs Change-of-State 了 at the End
Mandarin Possession with 的 (de): My, Your, His, and When Mandarin Drops the Particle
Mandarin Potential Complements: Can You Reach the Result? (吃得完, 听不懂, 买不起)
Mandarin Relative Clauses with 的 (de): How the Modifier Goes Before the Noun
Mandarin Resultative Complements: Fusing a Result onto the Verb (看见, 吃完, 找到)
Serial Verb Constructions in Mandarin: 我去商店买东西 and Stacking Verbs in Sequence
The Mandarin 是…的 (shì...de) Construction: Highlighting When, Where, and How Something Happened
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Go to my review queueThis word is part of lesson 7.