mǎi

to buy

How it’s built

Pictograph of money (貝) coming out of a netted bag (网). The simplified character 买 was adapted from the cursive form of the traditional character 買.

iconic

net

simplified

head — Shorthand for the 貝 component in the traditional character 買. Shells were used as currency in ancient China.

Through the ages

Oracle bone script

Bronze script

Seal script

Traditional script

Cursive script

Appears in

Characters that use 买 as a component, most common first.