The character 购 — “buy”: how to write it and what it means
buy, purchase
The Chinese character 购 is read gòu and means “buy, purchase”. Below: the stroke order step by step, what the character is made of and the words it appears in.
Stroke order: how to write 购
购 has 8 strokes. At each step the new stroke is highlighted — write them in the same order: top to bottom and left to right, horizontal before vertical, a frame before what is inside it, and the bottom stroke of the frame last.
To train your hand, print a handwriting sheet for 购, with strokes to trace and empty squares.
What 购 is made of
On the left, 贝 “shell, money”; on the right, 勾 gōu hints at the sound. A literary counterpart of 买.
The parts of a character hint at its meaning or its reading — more in the article “Chinese character radicals”.
Words with 购
- 购物go shoppingHSK 4
- 网购shop onlineHSK 4
- 购买purchase (lit.)HSK 4
- 采购purchase; procurementHSK 6
- 收购buy up, acquire (a company)HSK 6
Frequently asked questions
How do you write the character 购?
购 has 8 strokes. They follow the usual rules: top to bottom, left to right, horizontal before vertical, outside before inside. The order of each stroke is shown on this page.
What does 购 mean?
购 means “buy, purchase”. It appears in 购物 (“go shopping”), 网购 (“shop online”), 购买 (“purchase”), 采购 (“purchase”).
How do you pronounce 购?
购 is read gòu. The tone is part of the reading: with another melody it becomes another syllable.
How many strokes does 购 have?
8 strokes.
More characters on the page “Chinese characters with meanings” and in the list of HSK characters by level; whole words are in the dictionary.
Write 购 yourself
In the lessons you write characters stroke by stroke with a finger or a mouse, and the course checks the order. You can start for free, no sign-up needed.
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