买卖
mǎimài · HSK 5
buying and selling
💰🤝 买 (buy) + 卖 (sell) = buying-and-selling, i.e. business
买 and 卖 differ by one stroke on top: 卖 has 十 added, marking the seller who 'puts out' goods. Together they form the verb pair for commerce — any transaction or small trade.
买 — top 乛 (simplified 罒/網 net) + 头 (head, simplified of 貝 shell)
In its traditional form 買, the character shows a net (网) over a cowrie shell (貝), the ancient money — together meaning 'to net/acquire goods with money,' i.e. to buy. The simplified form 买 keeps the same idea with reduced strokes. It pairs with 卖 (sell), which adds 士 on top to show goods going out.
卖 — top 十 + 买 (buy) below
卖 means 'to sell' and is the simplified form of 賣. Historically it pairs 出 (out) over 買 (buy), suggesting goods going out in exchange — the opposite of buying. The simplified shape keeps 买 (buy) underneath with 十 on top as a reduced marker.