How do you remember the character 卖?

To SELL, you put up a sign (十) over the goods you bought (买) at your market stall. InkSeal turns this into a full illustration where the strokes of 卖 live inside the artwork.

What are the components of 卖?

卖 is built from 十 (ten), 买 (to buy). Recognizing recurring components like these makes new characters much easier to learn.

What common words use 卖?

Common words with 卖 include 买卖 (mǎi mài, buying and selling; a business transaction), 专卖店 (zhuān mài diàn, specialty store), 拍卖 (pāi mài, to auction; an auction).

Chinese character · HSK 2

卖 (mài) — “to sell”

Q: What does the Chinese character 卖 mean?

卖 (pronounced mài) means “to sell” in Mandarin Chinese. It is an HSK 2 character. The character is composed of 十 on top of 买 (mǎi, to buy). To sell something, you must first have bought it. The 十 can be seen as a signpost advertising the goods.

The character is composed of 十 on top of 买 (mǎi, to buy). To sell something, you must first have bought it. The 十 can be seen as a signpost advertising the goods.

Memory cue

To SELL, you put up a sign (十) over the goods you bought (买) at your market stall.

Visual mnemonic illustration of the Chinese character 卖 (to sell) — The strokes of 卖 stay visible inside the illustration.

Video mnemonic

Watch 卖 in motion

See the visual story unfold, then connect it to the words and sentences below.

Common ways to use 卖

卖 is read as mài (or neutral tone mai) across this set, contributing the idea of selling in business, specialty retail, auctions, takeout, and the extended sense of betrayal.

买卖

mǎi mài · buying and selling; a business transaction

他们谈成了一笔买卖。

They successfully negotiated a business deal.

Usage note: 买 means “buy,” while 卖 means “sell,” so together they cover both sides of a transaction.

专卖店

zhuān mài diàn · specialty store

附近有一家茶叶专卖店。

There is a specialty tea store nearby.

拍卖

pāi mài · to auction; an auction

这幅画将在明天拍卖。

This painting will be auctioned tomorrow.

Usage note: Use 拍卖 when something is sold through an auction rather than at a regular fixed price.

外卖

wài mài · takeout; food delivery

我今天中午点了外卖。

I ordered takeout for lunch today.

Usage note: 外卖 usually refers to prepared food ordered for takeout or delivery, not simply something “sold outside.”

出卖

chū mài · to betray; to sell out

他不会出卖朋友。

He would never betray a friend.

Usage note: With a person, friend, or secret as its object, 出卖 commonly means “betray,” not an ordinary sale.

Inside the character

十 (ten) — meaning component. A simple cross — used for counting, completeness, or as a structural anchor.
买 (to buy) — meaning component.

Where 卖 comes from

Simplified from 賣. The traditional form combines 買 (to buy) with 出 (to go out, later corrupted to 士/十 at the top), symbolizing goods 'going out' to a buyer.

卖 in Bronze inscription — Bronze inscription (金文)

Learn 卖 the visual way. InkSeal pairs every HSK 1–6 character with an illustration like this one, Common-use words and sentences, component breakdowns, etymology, and recall-first review. The first 100 characters are free.

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More characters: 史 (shǐ, history / annals) · 壮 (zhuàng, strong / robust) · 壶 (hú, pot / kettle) — or browse the full character library.