买

Tap the pinyin to hear it

to buy; to purchase

Sound it out + =

Formation & memory

Break the character into parts you already know.

Components 乛头

buy · Heisig RSH #858

beret + bust

Keyword method from Heisig's Remembering Simplified Hanzi.

The most common words first — learning a character in context makes it stick.

Word	Pinyin	Meaning
买方市场	mǎi fāng shì chǎng	buyer's market
买面子	mǎi miàn zi	to allow sb to save face; to defer to
要买人心	yāo mǎi rén xīn	variant of 邀買人心\|邀买人心[yao1 mai3 ren2 xin1]
买东西	mǎi dōng xi	to do one's shopping
买不起	mǎi bu qǐ	cannot afford; can't afford buying
千金难买	qiān jīn nán mǎi	can't be bought for one thousand in gold (idiom)
公买公卖	gōng mǎi gōng mài	buying and selling at fair prices
买一送一	mǎi yī sòng yī	buy one, get one free; two for the price of one
买空卖空	mǎi kōng mài kōng	to speculate; to play the market; (fig.) to sell hot air; to swindle people by posing as a…
买关节	mǎi guān jié	to offer a bribe
招兵买马	zhāo bīng mǎi mǎ	lit. to recruit soldiers and buy horses (idiom); fig. to raise an army; to recruit new sta…
买路钱	mǎi lù qián	money extorted by bandits in exchange for safe passage; illegal toll; (old) paper money st…
买家	mǎi jiā	buyer; purchaser
代拿买特	dài ná mǎi tè	(loanword) dynamite
牙买加	Yá mǎi jiā	Jamaica
买下	mǎi xià	to purchase (sth expensive, e.g. a house); to acquire (a company, a copyright etc)
买主	mǎi zhǔ	customer
投机买卖	tóu jī mǎi mài	to engage in speculative trading
百思买	Bǎi sī mǎi	Best Buy (retailer)
买官卖官	mǎi guān mài guān	buying and selling of official positions

These characters use 买 as their sound component — compare how they read.

Character	Pinyin	Meaning
买 sound part	mǎi	to buy, to purchase; to bribe, to persuade
卖	mài	to sell; to betray; to show off
荬	mǎi	endive; sow-thistle