购得 (gòu dé) — to purchase and obtain; to succeed in buying (formal)

Definition

Formal written verb meaning 'to purchase and obtain' — emphasizes successfully acquiring something, usually valuable or in a business context. Pairs with items like property, art, or materials, unlike the everyday 买.

verb
to purchase and obtainto succeed in buying (formal)

Examples

  • 购得。
    Tā tōng guò pāi mài gòu dé le nà fú míng huà.
    He purchased that famous painting at auction.
  • 购得。
    Gōng sī zuì jìn gòu dé le yí kuài dì pí.
    The company recently acquired a piece of land.
  • 购得。
    Wǒ yǐ jīng gòu dé le suǒ xū de cái liào.
    I have already purchased the necessary materials.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
补充bǔchōngVerb + complement

An action followed by its result or direction.

购gòubuy
得déobtain

购 means buy and 得 means obtain, expressing succeeding in buying.

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.

The old form 㝵 showed a hand picking up a cowry, meaning to obtain; later changes turned that picture into 得.

Open 得 →

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