卖 meaning and stroke order
To sell; to betray; to spare no effort
How to write 卖, stroke by stroke
8 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
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- 7
- 8
Meaning of 卖
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- to sell
- to betray
- to spare no effort
- to show off or flaunt
How 卖 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Buy.
买 gives the meaning and 买 hints at the sound.
Radical: 十 (ten), shared by 23 characters on this site.
How to remember 卖
卖 (mài) is 买 (mǎi, to buy) with 十 on top. Think of it this way: once you have bought something, you add a little extra on top and sell it, so the character with more strokes means to sell.
卖 is the everyday verb for selling goods, and it also appears in words like 出卖 (chūmài, to betray) and 卖弄 (màinong, to show off). Example: 这家店卖水果。(Zhè jiā diàn mài shuǐguǒ.) This shop sells fruit.
Common mistake: Learners often mix up 卖 (mài, fourth tone, to sell) and 买 (mǎi, third tone, to buy). Remember that the one with 十 on top is to sell, and the falling fourth tone goes with it.
Common words with 卖
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 外卖 | wàimài | (of a restaurant) to provide a takeout or home delivery meal; takeout (business) | HSK 2 |
| 买卖 | mǎimai | to buy and sell | HSK 5 |
| 出卖 | chūmài | to offer for sale; to sell; to sell out; to betray | HSK 7-9 |
| 拍卖 | pāimài | to auction; auction sale | HSK 7-9 |
| 贩卖 | fànmài | to sell; to peddle | HSK 7-9 |
| 卖弄 | màinong | to show off; to make a display of | HSK 7-9 |
| 倒卖 | dǎomài | to resell at a profit; to speculate | HSK 7-9 |
| 专卖店 | zhuānmàidiàn | specialty store | HSK 7-9 |
| 卖掉 | màidiào | to sell off | |
| 卖命 | màimìng | to work tirelessly; to give one's all; to slave away; to throw away one's life; to sacrifi | |
| 卖出 | màichū | to sell; to reach (a price in an auction) | |
| 卖淫 | màiyín | prostitution; to prostitute oneself | |
| 卖力 | màilì | to work hard; to do one's very best | |
| 卖完 | màiwán | to be sold out |
卖 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Characters that contain 卖
Learning 卖 makes these easier to recognize and write.
Questions about 卖
How many strokes are in 卖?
卖 is written with 8 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 卖 mean?
卖 (mài) means to sell; to betray; to spare no effort. A common word with it is 外卖 (wàimài), meaning "(of a restaurant) to provide a takeout or home delivery meal; takeout (business)".
How do you pronounce 卖?
卖 is pronounced mài, in the fourth tone (falling).
What is the radical of 卖?
The radical of 卖 is 十, which carries the idea of "ten". Dictionaries list 卖 under this radical.
What is the traditional form of 卖?
The traditional form of 卖 is 賣. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 卖 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
Is 卖 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 卖 is part of the HSK 2 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard, and you are expected to write it by hand from HSK 2.
How do you say 'sold out' in Chinese?
The common phrase is 卖完了 (mài wán le), meaning everything has been sold. You may also see 卖光了 (mài guāng le) with the same meaning.
What does 买卖 mean, and why is it pronounced mǎimai?
买卖 means trade or business, literally buying and selling. In this word the second syllable is usually said in the neutral tone, so it sounds like mǎimai.