购 (gòu) is a Chinese character meaning “to buy”. It is written from 贝 (shell) and 勾 (hook; to hook, to tick off), side by side, and takes 8 strokes.
Build the character for “to buy”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
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Structure
贝 + 勾
Left–right structure
Structure from: studyhanzi 现代字形构形分析（IDS ⿰贝勾；笔画核验 贝4 + 勾4 = 8，与 hanzi-writer-data 一致）
Memory aid
Money (贝, the cowrie shell used as currency) on the left, a hook (勾) on the right: you hook the thing you want and hand over the shells — you buy it. 勾 gōu also gives the sound gòu.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
8 strokes
In real words
- 购买gòu mǎito purchase; to buy购 = gòu
- 购物gòu wùto shop; shopping购 = gòu
Go deeper
All readings
to buy
to buy; to purchase (used in written and commercial contexts)
买；采买。多用于书面语和商业场合。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 购买gòu mǎito purchase; to buy购 = gòu
- 购物gòu wùto shop; shopping购 = gòu
Sound component
勾 family tone diff
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 购 mean?
购 (gòu) means to buy; to purchase (used in written and commercial contexts).
How do you pronounce 购?
It is pronounced gòu.
What parts is 购 made of?
贝 (shell) and 勾 (hook; to hook, to tick off), side by side. The recorded source is: studyhanzi 现代字形构形分析（IDS ⿰贝勾；笔画核验 贝4 + 勾4 = 8，与 hanzi-writer-data 一致）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 购 have?
8. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 购?
贝. The radical is how the character is filed in a dictionary — it is not the whole story of how the character is built.
What words use 购?
Common ones are 购买 and 购物. The reading of 购 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.