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: paper mulberry
Pictograph of a tree with paper mulberry leaves, now written as 楮. The distinguishing mark 口 was added later. The current meaning is a phonetic loan.
Components
口 Distinguishing component
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | tsyaeX | tAʔ | (nominalizing particle) |
說文解字
《說文》：“者，別事詞也。从白，聲。，古文旅字。”
Sources
- Character origin
- 林志強《《文源》評注》p.524-525李学勤《字源》p.290
- Readings & variants
- Unicode
- Historical pronunciations
- Baxter-Sagart
- Historical images
- Academia Sinica
- Etymology
- Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)
Traditional
Pictograph of two people side-by-side competing with each other.
Character Evolution
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | gjaengH | m-kraŋʔ-s (~ C-kraŋʔ-s) | strive; compete |
說文解字
《說文》：“競，彊語也。一曰逐也。从誩，从二人。”
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)