mǎi
buy
Pictograph of money (貝) coming out of a netted bag (网). The simplified character 买 was adapted from the cursive form of the traditional character 買.
Components
网 Iconic Simplified component
wǎng
net
头 Simplified component
tóu, tou
head
Shorthand for the 貝 component in the traditional character 買. Shells were used as currency in ancient China.
Evolution
Oracle script
(~1250-1000 BC)
Bronze script
Early Western Zhou (~1000 BC)
Seal script
Shuowen (~100 AD)
Clerical script
Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)Traditional script
ModernSimplified script
ModernComponent uses
Meaning component in 1 character (1 verified)