拍卖
pāi mài · HSK 7
to auction
🔨 拍 strike/clap + 卖 sell = the gavel comes down and it sells
拍 means to clap or strike (think the auctioneer's gavel), 卖 means to sell. An auction is the strike-and-sell: the hammer falls and the lot is sold.
拍 — hand radical 扌 + white 白
A semantic-phonetic compound: the hand radical 扌 gives the meaning (an action done with the hand, namely clapping or striking), while 白 (bái) supplies the phonetic clue for pāi. The original sense was to slap or pat with the open hand, later extending to beat (as in musical rhythm) and to take a photograph.
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.