购买 (gòu mǎi) — to purchase, to buy | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

购买 is the formal/written equivalent of 买 ('to buy'), common on receipts, in contracts, and in business news. Use 买 in everyday speech.

verb

to purchaseto buy

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

购 (buy) and 买 (buy) combine to mean purchase.

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.

貝冓購

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.

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 買; 买 is its simplified writing.

In the traditional form 買, 网 is a net and 貝 is a money cowrie.

Appears in