采购
cǎigòu · HSK 5
choose and purchase
🛒 采 = pick/gather + 购 = buy; pick-and-buy = procure
采 (cǎi) means to pick or gather (originally plucking from a tree), and 购 (gòu) means to buy. Together: select and purchase, i.e. procurement or sourcing goods.
采 — hand 爫 (claw) on top of tree 木
采 is an ideographic character showing a hand (爫) reaching down over a tree (木), depicting picking fruit or leaves. Its original meaning was 'to pluck' or 'gather,' which extended to 'collect' and 'select.' Later it also took on the sense of 'colorful' or 'variegated,' a meaning now often written as 彩.
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'.