English–Chinese

“buy” in Chinese

Chinese

Also购买 (gòu mǎi) · 购 (gòu) · 采购 (cǎi gòu)

Pronunciation

Pinyinmǎi

Example

他昨天在市场买了菜。tā zuó tiān zài shì chǎng mǎi le cài

He bought vegetables at the market yesterday.

Illustration for 买 (buy)

How to say “buy” in Chinese

“Buy” in Chinese is 买 (mǎi).

An exchange that brings a chosen thing or service into someone's possession.

Full entry for 买: usage tips, similar words and word origin

Example sentences with 买

我在网上买了电影票。wǒ zài wǎng shàng mǎi le diàn yǐng piào

I bought movie tickets online.

Tips for using 买

  • In phrases such as 买菜 (mǎi cài, "buy vegetables"), the item follows 买 (mǎi, "buy"), showing the usual Chinese verb-object order.

Other Chinese words for “buy”

他每天都在超市购买水果。tā měi tiān dōu zài chāo shì gòu mǎi shuí guǒ

He buys fruit at the supermarket every day.

3

购

gòu

verbbuy

明天我要购房子。míng tiān wǒ yào gòu fáng zi

Tomorrow I want to buy a house.

我们需要采购新的办公用品。wǒ men xū yào cǎi gòu xīn de bàn gōng yòng pǐn

We need to buy new office supplies.

“buy” in other languages