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JLPT N112画 · 12 strokesradical 貝grade 2freq #520Kanken level 9Jōyō kanji

buy

On'yomi (音読み)

  • バイ

Kun'yomi (訓読み)

  • か.う

Mnemonic

Imagine a shopper with a giant shell (the radical) in one hand while joyfully buying fresh seafood from a vendor.

About this kanji

The kanji 買 means "to buy" and is commonly used as a verb. The on'yomi reading is バイ, while the kun'yomi is か.う. You'll often see it in compounds like 買収 (ばいしゅう), which means "acquisition," particularly in business contexts. Another compound is 売買 (ばいばい), meaning "trade," which refers to buying and selling. When you go shopping, you use the term 買い物 (かいもの), which literally translates to "buying things." Just remember that 買 specifically refers to the act of buying, so if you're discussing shopping or procurement, these compounds will be helpful in conversation.

Example sentences

  • 来週、新しい車を買うつもりだ。

    I plan to buy a new car next week.

Meanings across languages

English
buy
Tiếng Việt
mua
日本語
買う
한국어
사다
中文
id
membeli
th
ซื้อ
es
comprar
fr
acheter
de
kaufen
pt
comprar

Common compounds

  • 買収ばいしゅうacquisition (esp. corporate), buy-out, takeover
  • 売買ばいばいtrade, buying and selling, trafficking (e.g. of humans, arms, drugs)
  • 買いかいbuying, shopping, buyer
  • 買い物かいものshopping, purchased goods
  • 購買こうばいprocurement, purchase, buying
  • 仲買なかがいbrokerage, broker
  • 買取かいとりpurchase, buying, buying out
  • 買うかうto buy, to purchase, to value (highly)

Words using this kanji

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