Meaning of 购物
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- shopping
How to use 购物
购物 is a slightly formal word for shopping. It is common in signs, ads and set phrases like 购物中心 (gòuwù zhōngxīn, shopping mall) and 网上购物 (wǎngshàng gòuwù, online shopping). Example: 周末我们去商场购物。(Zhōumò wǒmen qù shāngchǎng gòuwù.) We go shopping at the mall on weekends.
购 (gòu) has the shell radical 贝, an old symbol of money, so it means to buy with money. Add 物 (wù), "thing," and 购物 is buying things.
Common mistake: Learners often try to add an object, as in 购物衣服, but 购物 already contains its object 物. To name what you buy, use 买 (mǎi), as in 买衣服 (mǎi yīfu). Also keep 购 (gòu) in the fourth tone, not the third.
购物 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
购 gòu · to buy · 8 strokes
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物 wù · thing · 8 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 购物.
| 食物 | shíwù | food |
| 动物 | dòngwù | animal |
| 礼物 | lǐwù | gift; present |
| 动物园 | dòngwùyuán | zoo |
| 事物 | shìwù | thing; object |
| 药物 | yàowù | medicaments; pharmaceuticals |
| 植物 | zhíwù | plant; vegetation |
| 购买 | gòumǎi | to purchase; to buy |
| 人物 | rénwù | person; personage; figure (esp. sb of importance); character (in a play, novel etc) |
| 博物馆 | bówùguǎn | museum |
| 物质 | wùzhì | matter; substance |
| 收购 | shōugòu | to purchase or acquire in bulk or at an official level (esp. by a state or organization); |
Questions about 购物
What does 购物 mean?
购物 (gòuwù) means "shopping" and is used as a verb.
How do you write 购物?
购物 is made of 2 characters: 购 (8 strokes), 物 (8 strokes). That is 16 strokes in total.
Is 购物 an HSK word?
Yes. 购物 is on the HSK 4 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 购物 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 购物 is written 購物.
What is the difference between 购物 and 买东西?
They mean the same thing. 买东西 (mǎi dōngxi) is the everyday spoken choice. 购物 sounds more formal and appears more in writing, signs and compound terms.
What does 购物车 mean?
购物车 (gòuwùchē) is a shopping cart. It is used both for the cart in a supermarket and for the cart icon on shopping websites and apps.