mǎi​qí

buy all

mǎi buy Simplified

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

Components

wǎng net
Simplified component
tóu, tou head

Shorthand for the component in the traditional character . Shells were used as currency in ancient China.

Component uses

Sound (1 of 2 verified)

Meaning (1)

Sources

Readings & variants
Unicode

even Simplified

Simplified form of . Pictograph of three stalks of grain. Alludes to the even and uniform appearance of a grain field.

Component uses

Sound (3 of 13 verified)

Remnant (1)

Sources

Character origin
漢語多功能字庫
Readings & variants
Unicode

mǎi buy Traditional

Pictograph of money () coming out of a netted bag ().

Components

Iconic component
wǎng net
Change in form
Due to historical stylistic changes, this component is less similar to than it was in ancient scripts.
Iconic component
bèi sea shell

Shells were used as currency in ancient China.


Character Evolution

Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Early Western Zhou ~1000 BC
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Qin 221-206 BC
Clerical form
Clerical Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Regular Modern

Component uses

Sound (1 of 2 verified)

Meaning (1)

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagartmeaXmˤrajʔ buy

說文解字

《說文》:“買,市也。从网、貝。《孟子》曰:‘登壟斷而网市利。’”

Sources

Character origin
漢語多功能字庫
Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Baxter-Sagart
Historical images
Academia Sinica

even, uniform Traditional

Pictograph of three stalks of grain. Alludes to the even and uniform appearance of a grain field.

Character Evolution

Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Shang ~1100 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Early Western Zhou ~1000 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Western Zhou ~800 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Spring and Autumn ~500 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Early Warring States ~400 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Early Warring States ~400 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Early Warring States ~400 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Mid Warring States ~300 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Mid Warring States ~300 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Mid Warring States ~300 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Mid Warring States ~300 BC
Bronze form
Bronze Late Warring States ~250 BC
Seal form
Seal Warring States (Chu) 475-221 BC
Seal form
Seal Warring States (Chu) 475-221 BC
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Spring and Autumn 771-476 BC
Clerical form
Clerical Qin 221-206 BC
Clerical form
Clerical Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Western Han 202 BC-9 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Regular Modern

Component uses

Sound (3 of 11 verified)

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagartdzej[dz]ˤəj uniform, equal
dzej[dz]ˤəj Qí (place name)

說文解字

《說文》:“齊,禾麥吐穗上平也。象形。”

Sources

Character origin
漢語多功能字庫
Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Baxter-Sagart
Historical images
Academia Sinica