购 gòu — to buy; to purchase
妈妈去商场购买了一些日用品。Mā ma qù shāng chǎng gòu mǎi le yì xiē rì yòng pǐn.Mom went to the mall to buy some daily necessities.
Common words: 购物 (gòu wù)、购买 (gòu mǎi)、收购 (shōu gòu)
Meaning Index
Chinese characters meaning "to buy"
Learn Chinese characters with the meaning "to buy", including 购 (gòu), 贾 (jiǎ / gǔ). Study pinyin, English meanings, traditional forms, common words…
How to Study This Meaning Group
The English word "to buy" covers 2 different Chinese characters — 购 (gòu), 贾 (jiǎ / gǔ) — and each is its own word with its own feel. These 2 characters do not share a sound — their readings span gòu, jiǎ, gǔ — so confirm the pinyin and tone for each one separately. The example sentences further down show how 购 and the others are actually used, so you learn them in context rather than as a single translation.
- 购 gòuto buy; to purchaseUseful words: 购物, 购买
- 贾 jiǎ / gǔmerchant; to buy; (surname)Useful words: 商贾, 贾客
Common words for these 2 "to buy" characters
Anchor each of these 2 characters in a word you can picture — start with 购 (gòu) — so "to buy" turns into concrete usage instead of a one-to-one translation.
购物gòu wùshopping购买gòu mǎito purchase; to buy收购shōu gòuto purchase or acquire in bulk or at an official level (esp. by a state or organization); to acquire or take over (a company or equity); acquisition; takeover商贾shāng gǔmerchant贾客gǔ kèmerchant (old)贾第虫jiǎ dì chóng(biology) giardia (esp. Giardia lamblia)
See each character in a sentence
Each character below is shown in a short example sentence with pinyin and an English translation — the quickest way to feel the difference between the 2 ways to say "to buy".
贾 jiǎ / gǔ — merchant; to buy; (surname)
贾老师讲课十分生动有趣。Jiǎ lǎo shī jiǎng kè shí fēn shēng dòng yǒu qù.Teacher Jia teaches in a very vivid and interesting way.
Common words: 商贾 (shāng gǔ)、贾客 (gǔ kè)、贾第虫 (jiǎ dì chóng)
All 2 characters
Open 购、贾 or any character below to hear it read aloud and see it used in an example sentence.