How to Write 买 (mǎi) — Meaning “to buy”

Imagine a big person (大) wearing a hook-shaped hat (乛) while shopping – they are ready to buy things. Another trick: the hook looks like a shopping bag handle, and 大 means 'big', so you buy big items.

The stroke order is: first write the horizontal hook (乛) from left to right, then left-falling, horizontal, horizontal, left-falling, and finally a dot. Common mistakes include making the top hook too long or forgetting the last dot – without the dot, the character looks like 天 (tiān, sky).

买 has a hook (乛) on top, while 天 has two straight horizontals on top and no dot. 太 consists of 大 (big) with a dot underneath, but 买 has a hook above 大 and the dot is placed inside the bottom part. Visually, 买 is more compact with a curved top stroke.

买 (mǎi) means 'to buy' and is used in everyday phrases like 买东西 (go shopping) and 买票 (buy a ticket). In traditional markets, bargaining (讨价还价) is common when buying goods, though it is less expected in stores. This character is essential for any transaction in Chinese.

Common words containing 买 include: 买东西 (mǎi dōng xī) — to go shopping; 买菜 (mǎi cài) — to buy groceries; 买票 (mǎi piào) — to buy a ticket.