销 xiāo — to melt; to do away with; to sell
这款手机卖得很好，十分畅销。Zhè kuǎn shǒu jī mài de hěn hǎo, shí fēn chàng xiāo.This phone sells very well and is very popular.
Common words: 销售 (xiāo shòu)、推销 (tuī xiāo)、促销 (cù xiāo)
Meaning Index
Chinese characters meaning "to sell"
Learn Chinese characters with the meaning "to sell", including 销 (xiāo), 卖 (mài), 售 (shòu), 贩 (fàn). Study pinyin, English meanings, traditional forms…
How to Study This Meaning Group
The English word "to sell" covers 4 different Chinese characters — 销 (xiāo), 卖 (mài), 售 (shòu), 贩 (fàn) — and each is its own word with its own feel. These 4 characters do not share a sound — their readings span xiāo, mài, shòu, fàn — so confirm the pinyin and tone for each one separately. The example sentences further down show how 销 and the others are actually used, so you learn them in context rather than as a single translation.
- 销 xiāoto melt; to do away with; to sellUseful words: 销售, 推销
- 卖 màito sellUseful words: 外卖, 买卖
- 售 shòuto sellUseful words: 销售, 出售
- 贩 fàndeal in; trade in; to peddle; to sellUseful words: 贩卖, 小贩
Common words for these 4 "to sell" characters
Anchor each of these 4 characters in a word you can picture — start with 销 (xiāo) — so "to sell" turns into concrete usage instead of a one-to-one translation.
销售xiāo shòuto sell; to market; sales (representative, agreement etc)推销tuī xiāoto market; to sell促销cù xiāoto promote sales外卖wài mài(of a restaurant) to provide a takeout or home delivery meal; takeout (business); takeout (meal)买卖mǎi màito buy and sell出卖chū màito offer for sale; to sell; to sell out; to betray销售xiāo shòuto sell; to market; sales (representative, agreement etc)出售chū shòuto sell; to offer for sale; to put on the market售货员shòu huò yuánsales clerk; sales associate; retail salesperson贩卖fàn màito sell; to peddle; to traffic
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 4 ways to say "to sell".
卖 mài — to sell
这家店专门卖文具。Zhè jiā diàn zhuān mén mài wén jù.This shop specializes in selling stationery.
Common words: 外卖 (wài mài)、买卖 (mǎi mài)、出卖 (chū mài)
售 shòu — to sell
这家店的衣服正在打折出售。Zhè jiā diàn de yī fu zhèng zài dǎ zhé chū shòu.The clothes in this shop are being sold at a discount.
Common words: 销售 (xiāo shòu)、出售 (chū shòu)、售货员 (shòu huò yuán)
贩 fàn — deal in; trade in; to peddle; to sell
市场上，小贩们大声叫卖着新鲜的蔬菜。Shì chǎng shàng, xiǎo fàn men dà shēng jiào mài zhe xīn xiān de shū cài.At the market, vendors loudly hawk fresh vegetables.
Common words: 贩卖 (fàn mài)、小贩 (xiǎo fàn)、商贩 (shāng fàn)
All 4 characters
Open 销、卖、售 or any character below to hear it read aloud and see it used in an example sentence.