购票 (gòu piào) — to purchase tickets; ticket purchasing

Definition

购票 (gòu piào) is a formal verb/noun meaning 'to purchase tickets' or 'ticket purchasing', common in official and service contexts like cinemas, transit, and venues.

to purchase ticketsticket purchasing

Examples

  • 购票。
    Wǒ zài wǎng shàng gòu piào le.
    I purchased tickets online.
  • 购票。
    Qǐng tí qián gòu piào rù chǎng.
    Please purchase tickets in advance to enter.
  • 购票。
    Diàn yǐng yuàn zhī chí shǒu jī gòu piào.
    The cinema supports mobile ticket purchasing.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

购gòubuy
票piàoticket

购 means buy and 票 means ticket, meaning buying tickets.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 購; 购 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
貝貝bèishellfish
Sound part声符shēngfú
冓
冓gòu購gòu
Same sound today

The traditional form 購 pairs 貝, a shellfish, with 冓, which gives the sound; the simplified 购 is a later shorthand.

Open 购 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

  • 火火huǒfire
  • 𢍱𢍱𢍱to rise high

票 combines 火 (fire) and 𢍱 (to rise high), originally representing sparks rising up.

Open 票 →

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