卖 (mài): to sell, to betray, to spare no effort
卖 (mài) is a Chinese character meaning “to sell.” Classified as HSK Level 1 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 十 (structural) and 买 (phonetic). It ranks #974 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 卖 buy. Its radical form 十 (ten) appears in many related characters such as 十 (shí, ten), 午 (wǔ, 7th earthly branch: 11 a.m.-1 p.m., noon, 5th solar month (6th June-6th July), year of the Horse), 半 (bàn, half).
Definitions
- to sell
- to betray
- to spare no effort
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
Practice writing 卖 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 卖
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 买卖noun | mǎi mài | to buy and sell | 5 |
| 外卖verb/noun | wài mài | (of a restaurant) to provide a takeout or home delivery meal | 3 |
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 出卖verb | chū mài | to offer for sale |
| 拍卖verb | pāi mài | to auction |
| 贩卖verb | fàn mài | to sell |
| 卖力verb | mài lì | to work hard |
| 拍卖会 | pāi mài huì | auction |
| 卖淫verb | mài yín | prostitution |
| 卖命verb | mài mìng | to work tirelessly |
| 卖弄verb | mài nong | to show off |
| 卖掉verb | mài diào | to sell off |
| 卖家noun | mài jiā | seller |
| 义卖verb | yì mài | to hold a charity bazaar |
| 专卖店noun | zhuān mài diàn | specialty store |
| 倒卖verb | dǎo mài | to resell at a profit |
| 甩卖noun | shuǎi mài | to mark down (the price of goods) |
| 卖身verb | mài shēn | to prostitute oneself |
卖 appears in 100 compound words: 45 as the first character, 34 as the last, and 21 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 卖 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (9)
to rely on one's seniority or old age to look down on others or do things
to smash pots and pans and sell the iron; to give away all one has; to spend one's last penny
to rely on one's seniority or old age to look down on others or do things
to smash pots and pans and sell the iron; to give away all one has; to spend one's last penny
Example Sentences
写好卖字需要掌握正确的笔画顺序。
xiě hǎo mài zì xū yāo zhǎng wò zhēng què de bǐ huà shùn xù .
To write the character "卖" well, you need to master the correct stroke order.
...人心疼 IKEA赚到广告 16元玩偶全球卖翻
. . . rén xīn téng I K E A zhuàn dào guǎng gào 1 6 yuán wán ǒu quán qiú mài fān
... People are distressed, IKEA earns advertising, 16 yuan dolls are sold around the world
巴菲特执掌的最后一季 波克夏上季依然卖超美股
bā 菲 tè zhí zhǎng de zuì hòu yī jì bō kè xià shàng jì yī rán mài chāo měi gǔ
Buffett's last season at the helm Berkshire still sold more than U.S. stocks last season
7千万修复儒考棚变特卖会场!挨轰糟蹋古迹 市府称:短期个案
7 qiān wàn xiū fù rú kǎo péng biàn tè mài huì chǎng ! āi hōng zāo tà gǔ jì shì fǔ chèn : duǎn qī gè àn
70 million repaired Confucian examination shed into a special sale venue! The city government said: short-term case
法国潮牌熨燶白裇衫卖8884港元吓亲人 网民笑:阿妈都整过一...
fǎ guó cháo pái yù 燶 bái 裇 shān mài 8 8 8 4 gǎng yuán hè qīn rén wǎng mín xiào : ā mā dōu zhěng guò yī . . .
French trendy brand ironed white shirt sells for HK$8,884 to scare relatives Netizens laugh: Mom has done a...
外卖骑手黄晓琴:做骑手与社会连接的纽带|在春...
wài mài qí shǒu huáng xiǎo qín : zuò qí shǒu yǔ shè huì lián jiē de niǔ dài zài chūn . . .
Takeaway rider Huang Xiaoqin: Be the link between riders and society|In the spring...
你知道现在哪本书卖得好吗？
Nǐ zhīdào xiànzài nǎ běn shū mài de hǎo ma?
Do you know which book sells well now?
那家店卖笔记本吗？
Nà jiā diàn mài bǐjìběn ma?
Do they sell notebooks at that store?
这种式样的钱包你们有卖吗？
Zhèzhǒng shìyàng de qiánbāo nǐmen yǒu mài ma?
Do you sell this style of wallet?
最近的大卖场在哪里？
Zuì jìn de dàmàichǎng zài nǎlǐ?
Where's the nearest shopping mall?
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 卖 (mài) mean in Chinese?
What's the difference between 卖 and 购?
How many strokes does 卖 have?
What is the radical of 卖?
What are the components of 卖?
What are common words containing 卖?
What characters sound the same as 卖 (mài)?
Is 卖 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 卖 with real-time feedback
Trace stroke sequences, hear spoken pronunciation, and build lasting retention with spaced repetition in the HanziFeed app.