Simplified
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.
Components
网 IconicSimplified component
头 Simplified component
Shorthand for the 貝 component in the traditional character 買. Shells were used as currency in ancient China.
Original meaning: leaping flames
Phonosemantic compound. A remnant of 要 represents the sound and 火 represents the meaning. Based on the original meaning "leaping flames". The current meaning is a phonetic loan.
Components
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | phjiew | pʰew | leaping flames (Shuōwén) |
說文解字
《說文》：“，火飛也。从火、。與同意。”
Sources
- Character origin
- 漢語多功能字庫
- Readings & variants
- Unicode
- Historical pronunciations
- Baxter-Sagart
- Historical images
- Academia Sinica
- Etymology
- Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)
Traditional
Components
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | meaX | mˤrajʔ | 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
- Etymology
- Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)