卖 mài to sell
How to remember 卖: 十 ten + 买 to buy = to sell. The girl at the lemonade stand has ten cups ready, but nobody stops to buy, so she starts singing to finally manage to sell one.
Component breakdown
会意 · Meaning + meaning
originally 出 + 買
Two or more parts whose meanings together make the new meaning.
卖 = 十 ten + 买 to buy
- 十 ten shape only
- 买 to buy meaning + sound
- 乛 cap
- 头 head
The girl at the lemonade stand has ten cups ready, but nobody stops to buy, so she starts singing to finally manage to sell one.
How it came to be
The small seal form puts go out on top of buy: selling is buying turned outward.
How it is used
- 'Sell': 卖东西 (mài dōngxi) sell things, 卖完了 (mài wán le) sold out.
- Its mirror is 买 (mǎi, buy); the two look alike but 卖 has the extra top stroke (十). 买卖 (mǎimai) together means 'business/trade'.
- 外卖 (wàimài) is takeout/food delivery; 出卖 (chūmài) means to betray/sell out.
Characters built with 卖
Words with 卖
Example sentences
- 我把房子卖了。 Wǒ bǎ fángzi mài le.I sold the house.
- 很多地方有卖的，例如这里。 Hěn duō dìfang yǒu mài de, lìrú zhèlǐ.It's sold at many places, for example here.