购买
gòumǎi · HSK 4
buy
🛒 购 (buy) + 买 (purchase) — both halves mean buy, stacked for emphasis
购 and 买 each independently mean 'to buy'; Chinese often pairs near-synonyms to form a clearer two-syllable word. 买 (mǎi, buy) contrasts with 卖 (mài, sell) — same shape, just a 十 on top for selling.
购 — 贝 (shell/money) + 勾 (gōu, phonetic)
购 is a semantic-phonetic compound. The 贝 component (cowrie shell, ancient currency) signals meaning related to money or trade, while 勾 (gōu) supplies the sound. Originally meaning to offer a reward or buy, it now simply means 'to purchase'.
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.