買
買 — Buy
buy
On’yomiバイ (bai)
Kun’yomiかう (kau)
Stroke order (12 strokes)
Watch the strokes draw themselves in the correct order — numbers mark where each stroke starts. Diagram from KanjiVG (CC BY-SA).
Common words using 買
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 売買 | ばいばい baibai | trade; buying and selling; trafficking (e.g. of humans, arms, drugs) |
| 買収 | ばいしゅう baishuu | acquisition (esp. corporate); buy-out; takeover |
| 買い物 | かいもの kaimono | shopping; purchased goods |
| 買い | かい kai | buying; shopping; buyer |
| 買い取り | かいとり kaitori | purchase; buying; buying out |
| 買う | かう kau | to buy; to purchase; to value (highly) |
Study notes
買 is a JLPT N4 kanji written with 12 strokes. It is taught in Japanese elementary school (grade 2), so native children learn it early — a good sign it appears everywhere. Ranked #520 of the 2,500 most frequent kanji in newspapers. On’yomi (音読み) are Chinese-derived readings mostly used in compound words; kun’yomi (訓読み) are native Japanese readings, with any highlighted part written in hiragana after the kanji (okurigana).
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